Mango
by A. Windsor
Summary: Crews and Reese, five years post-One. Life is changing. Sequel to Blood Oath.
1. Marco Polo

Title: Mango

Rating: PG-13 (some violence, angst, a couple f-bombs)

Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Kevin Tidwell, Ted Earley, a few OCs

Pairing: Crews/Reese

Summary: Crews and Reese, five years post-series. Life is changing.

Spoilers/Time Period: Set five years after One. (May 2014)

Disclaimer: Most of the characters (sans the Ayers) aren't mine, but the situation is.

Author's Note: Sequel to Blood Oath, which introduced us to the Ayers family. Not necessary to have read the first one, but please do! The events of the past five years will be revealed in flashbacks.

Chapter One: Marco Polo

"I'll get it," Charlie Crews calls into the big house as the doorbell rings. A rather large watermelon under one arm, he pulls the door open to reveal Kathryn and Daniel Ayers, the latter bouncing on his toes excitedly, swim trunks his only clothing, goggles pushed up onto his head.

"Hi, Uncle Charlie," six-year-old Daniel greets warmly.

"Hey, buddy," Charlie answers, tousling his thick, dirty blond curls.

"Can we go in the pool?" Daniel asks, throwing his arms around his "uncle" before quickly running towards the back door.

"Hey!"

He runs straight into his godmother as she comes in from the pool deck. He giggles.

"What are you doing running in my house?" she asks, faux-sternly, her hands on her hips.

"Sorry," Daniel eeps, even as Dani picks the small boy up. His arms go around her neck automatically.

"You wanna go in the pool that badly, huh?"

"Uh oh, Little D. She's got you now," Charlie calls.

"No, Aunt Dani," Daniel squeals, obviously loving it. He kicks gently, pretending to try to get free. His flip-flops fall off onto the pool deck as she hauls him to the waterside, Charlie and Katie following behind.

"Hold your nose!" Katie calls to her son as Dani approaches the edge of the pool with an armful of laughing first-grader.

Daniel does as he's told as Dani slings the boy into the deep end. The boy comes up sputtering and grinning, swimming like a champ to the side and pushing himself up.

"That'll teach you to run inside," Dani teases.

Little D beams. "Do it again!"

Dani groans. "Not right now, D. You're getting heavy!"

"Hey, Uncle Charlie," the energetic boy shifts his attention to his godmama's husband. "Think watermelons float? My friend Tommy says they do."

"I dunno, D. Let's test it out."

"You're gonna get our watermelon in the gross pool water," Dani complains as she turns to greet her friend and the boys head to the water's edge.

"It's not gross, and you don't even like watermelon!" Charlie calls over his shoulder.

"Well, I want some tonight."

Charlie grins widely. "I promise to wash it off. So, Little Danny, hop into the shallow end so we can test our theory."

Katie laughs at their antics. "You're not going to throw me into the deep end as a greeting, are you?"

"No," Dani smiles and shakes her head. "Where's Jamie?"

"Held up at the base, as usual. He said he'll swing by if he gets off in time," Katie explains as they sit down on two lounge chairs. She watches Charlie and Daniel attack their experiment with gusto, if not the greatest scientific method. "Charlie's really so good with him."

"That's because they're at the same maturity level."

***

Later, after games of marco polo and categories and a dinner of hot dogs, hamburgers, and lots of watermelon, they all gather in the cooling night air around the pool. Dani lounges on one of the long chairs, Little D stretched out next to her, asleep with his head resting on her stomach. Her hand is tangled in his unruly hair. Charlie shares the chair, stealing a little bit of space to sit up aside her hip. Katie takes the other chair, looking up at the stars with a laugh at whatever Dani has just said.

"How about I take Little Danny up to his room? You sure you don't want to crash here tonight too, Kate?" Charlie asks, leaning over to extricate the tan little boy from Dani's grasp.

"I wish I could, but I think D would be upset if I cramped his style during his day with Aunt Dani. Besides, I have a bunch of errands to run bright and early tomorrow over by our place. I'll come get him before dinner."

"Okay, I'll go settle him in. You can girl talk while I'm gone."

He meets Dani's eyes, and they have one of their silent conversations. It ends when she rolls her eyes and nods. Charlie grins and offers the snoring six-year-old's forehead for mother and godmother to kiss.

"Oh, bring more watermelon when you come back," Dani calls for him as he reaches the door.

"You ate it all," he smiles.

She sighs.

"We have a few apples, some strawberries. One papple left," he offers, shifting Daniel's dead weight into a more comfortable position.

"I'll take the Asian pear."

"Yes, dear," Charlie teases.

Katie cocks her head at her best friend, eyes narrowing as she reaches out a hand to feel Dani's forehead.

"Are you feeling okay? That's a lot of fruit for you. Has Charlie been rubbing off on you? And I mean that mostly in the least dirty way imaginable."

Dani bats her hand away, and then gets a more serious, nervous look on her face.

Katie's gaze turns knowing. "Spill."

Dani makes a face at her friend's scrutiny and then admits, "I'm pregnant."

Katie squeals like they're sixteen again and practically tackles Dani in her excitement.

"No way! That's so great, Dani. I didn't even know you guys were trying."

"We weren't trying so much as not _not_ trying," Dani grins.

"Are you excited?"

"Excited, terrified… Is there a difference? Crews is ecstatic."

"He should be! You guys are going to be great parents."

Dani looks at her skeptically. "At least we'll have you around for advice, and to call Children's Services if it gets too bad."

Rolling her eyes, Katie says, "When are you due?"

"Six and a half months."

"Oh, you're early!"

"Yeah, we were trying to wait until three, but we decided we needed to tell someone before Charlie burst from all that excitement. So, you, Mom, and Ted."

"And Little D, of course."

"Only if he can keep a secret."

"For you, Aunt Dani? That boy'll never tell a soul."

Dani smiles. "We'll tell him at breakfast."

"Oh, Dani. I can't wait to meet your kid. With genes like those, that's going to be one exciting little one."

***

_Charlie is there when she finally wakes up, his arm in a sling and his face covered in bruises. _

"_Hi," she greets softly, relieved when his good hand immediately finds hers._

_He brings her hand to his lips, his eyes wet. _

"_You shouldn't've been there."_

"_It's just a bump on the head, Crews."_

"_I knew I shouldn't have gotten you involved."_

"_Hey," she admonishes, twisting their hands so his is on top. Her other hand sluggishly points to the platinum band on his third finger. "I'm involved."_

"_I know." He kisses her hand again. "I'm sorry." _

"_But we got the guy, right? Six boxes, now six faces."_

"_The wall is done," he confirms. _

"_And we can put it away?" she asks, hopeful. She'd been just as set on avenging the conspiracy as he was, but the danger that constantly put him in is getting old._

_He nods, and she squeezes his hand. _

"_Good."_

"_I was thinking…" he starts._

"_That's always dangerous," Dani groans, sitting up. _

_His face splits into a wide grin. "Now there's my girl."_

_A Reese look._

"_Sorry, sorry, my badass, LAPD sergeant of a wife and ex-partner."_

_She rolls her eyes. _

"_What were you thinking about, Crews?"_

"_Well, if the wall's done…"_

"_Which it is," she reiterates. _

_He nods. "Which it is. And since it is, maybe we should start thinking about the future."_

"_The future? I thought you were all about the moment," she teases warmly._

"_The moment's good, but I've been thinking a lot about the future. About what our kids would be like," he ventures._

_The discussion of children had been quickly tabled at the beginning of their relationship; tracking down a deadly conspiracy was not conducive to raising a family. She would have been happy to keep that discussion tabled. Although, if she's being honest, the idea has started to terrifyingly sneak up on her over the last couple years. _

_At her silence, Charlie soldiers on. "I've decided they'd be great. And that we should have them. How many, how often, and by what method… completely up to you. We can adopt or not or whatever. I just really, really think we should have them. Or just one. Whatever you want. And I know you're scared, Dani, but you're not your dad, and you're not a fuck up, and I think we could be good at this. Really good. And I'm sorry to lay all of this on you right now, when you've still probably got a concussion and a nasty headache, but while you were lying in that bed, I was terrified that you would never get up. And that's when I realized how much I want our future, and I want it to start now, or as soon as possible."_

_She stares at him, with his open, earnest, loving expression. He talks too much, all the time, but somewhere in the vaguely coherent stream of consciousness that is Charlie Crews, he always knows exactly the right thing to say. _

"_We don't have to name them after fruit, do we?"_

_Charlie beams. "Nope, I'll let you pick the names, too."_

"_Yeah?"_

_He nods. _

_She draws it out, feeling the answer building up inside her. "Yeah, okay… But no fruity names."_

_Charlie pulls her closer by their hands, and she lets him kiss her softly, soundly, their hands disconnecting as he moves to cup her face. _

"_So Apple's out?" he asks as they pull apart._

"_Yes," she says calmly._

"_And Papple, too?"_

"_Oh, hell, yes."_

"_Bapple."_

_A Reese look. _

"_No."_

"_But Lychee would be such a great name!" he whines teasingly. _

_There's a knock at the door that breaks up their dorky grinning._

"_Aunt Dani! You're awake!" Daniel Ayers gasps, escaping his mother's grasp to bolt into the room. The six-year-old skids to a halt just short of leaping onto the bed. "You're not broken like Uncle Charlie, are you?" His young voice is very concerned._

"_Nope, not broken," she confirms, pulling away from Crews to spread her arms out to prove her point and invite a hug._

_He beams and clambers onto the bed and into her arms. _

"_I was worried. Uncle Charlie was more worried. But I was worried, too. Mommy made me go to school, though." _

"_Good. You know if you play hooky my uniforms'll come pick you up…"_

***

"This better be good, Stark," Dani Reese grumbles as she enters the squad room, Daniel in tow. The uniforms under her command give her wide berth. They know her moods well enough after the last three years to not intervene.

Bobby Stark pulls a face and steels himself.

"Hey, Little D," he smiles for the boy. "Enjoying your day off? Here, let Branch take you down and get your prints done."

"I'll just be a couple minutes, okay, D?" Dani tells the boy, her face softening as she brushes his bangs out of his eyes.

"Sure, Aunt Dani."

One of the rookies leads Daniel down to the print room. Reese returns her glare to Bobby.

"I'm sorry, Sarge. Captain's orders. The brass are up his ass about some paperwork thing."

"Paperwork?!"

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. He's in his office."

Dani sighs and pushes her way into Tidwell's office.

"Captain, it's my day off."

"Well, hello to you, too, Sergeant Reese. Did I see Lil' Danny with you?" Kevin Tidwell plays nice. "And in Stark's defense, he didn't want to call you."

"Just make it quick." She glances at her watch. "I promised D a movie before his mom comes to get him."

***

"Little D?"

"Uncle Charlie!"

"What are ya doing here, buddy?" Charlie asks as he catches the boy in his arms as he waves off the uniform acting as babysitter.

Crews and his rookie detective partner, Caleb Hart, have just come back from a scene.

"Tidwell called Aunt Dani in. She's mad. And Bobby was scared."

"I'm sure Bobby wasn't scared."

Daniel looks skeptical.

"Maybe just a little. You've been keeping our secret, right?"

D nods emphatically, zipping his lips and crossing his heart.

"Good. How 'bout you go sit at my desk with Caleb while I go find Aunt Dani?"

"Can I wash my hands first?" Daniel asks, showing off his inky fingers.

"Yeah, of course. Hart?"

"Sure thing, Crews. Come on, D."

***

"Alright, there you go, Captain," Dani shoves the papers towards Tidwell. She checks her watch again. "We good?"

"We're good."

Dani's phone rings and she excuses herself from Tidwell with a nod.

"Reese."

"Hey, Dani. It's Jamie."

"Jamie. Is everything okay?"

"Yea, I just got a call from Kate, though. She has to ride out to Ventura to get Jake, so can you feed Daniel and then meet me at the house?"

"Of course. Is Jake okay?"

"Is he ever? Thanks, Dani. See you around seven?"

"Sure."

She snaps her phone closed, planning out the rest of the afternoon in her head. They can still make that three o'clock matinee if they head out soon, and as much as she is loathe to see yet another animated film, Pixar is usually pretty bearable.

"Hey," Charlie gently interrupts her thoughts. He's in her personal space, but doesn't touch her. They try to keep it vaguely professional at work.

"Hey," she smiles tiredly. Her brow furrows. "Branch said you had Daniel."

"Did I?" he teases. "Hm, must have misplaced him…"

"Charlie…"

"Hart has him." He gestures over his shoulder to his desk. Daniel is perched on Hart's desk (the one that used to be hers). He notices her and waves. "Where are you guys headed?"

"Movies. And then out to dinner. Kate's tied up. I'm gonna drop him off at home."

"Can I meet you for dinner or is this godmom/godson only?" Charlie smiles.

Dani rolls her eyes. "You can come. I'll call you after the movie's over."

"Sounds good." He gestures for her to go ahead and follows behind her.

"H-hi, Sergeant," Caleb Hart greets as Reese and Crews approach. For reasons Crews won't divulge, the rookie is extremely nervous whenever she's around.

"Hart," she nods. "You ready to move out, D?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," Little D salutes, jumping down from the desk.

Dani fights the little smile forming. "Say bye to Uncle Charlie. You'll see him at dinner. We get to keep you for a few more hours."

"And then I'll see Mom?"

"And then you'll see Mom."

Daniel smiles and automatically takes his godmother's hand to lead her out of the station.

"Bye, Uncle Charlie," he calls back over his shoulder.

***

Exhausted from her day with an energetic little boy (as well as her changing body chemistry), Dani says goodbye to D at the restaurant and lets Charlie drive him home. The guys transfer the booster seat into Crews's car and each kiss Dani goodbye. If they speed just a little on the way to Van Nuys, it's with the silent agreement never to tell Dani or Katie.

Katie's not home yet, but Daniel is happy to see his father and eagerly recounts every part of his past two days even as they disappear into the house. Charlie grins, wondering if his kid will be quite as talkative as Daniel Ayers.

He spends the entire car ride home imagining the little person who will be joining them in six months.


	2. The Moment

Title: Mango

Rating: PG-13 (some violence, angst, a couple f-bombs)

Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Kevin Tidwell, Ted Earley, a few OCs

Pairing: Crews/Reese

Summary: Crews and Reese, five years post-series. Life is changing.

Spoilers/Time Period: Set five years after One. (May 2014)

Disclaimer: Most of the characters (sans the Ayers) aren't mine, but the situation is.

Author's Note: Thanks for the great response. So I don't burn through the chapters too quick, I'll be posting them about once a week, usually on the weekends. Enjoy!

**Chapter Two: The Moment**

The phone rings at four a.m.; in their line of work, that means someone is dead.

Dani groans at the interruption to their sleep, and Charlie reaches over her to quickly end the ringing.

"Hello?" he grumbles.

"Charlie." It's Bobby, and he sounds awful. Charlie sits up quickly, trying not to further wake Dani.

"Shh, go back to sleep," Charlie soothes as he carefully gets out of bed. Once out the door, he says, "Sorry, Bobby. What's up?"

"Is the Sarge with you?" Bobby asks, using the uniforms' affectionate name for their small but mighty commanding officer.

"She's asleep. Bobby, what's wrong?"

"Oh, jeez, Charlie. Some of the guys heard about an accident and an arrest outside of Ventura. It's bad, Charlie. A car spun out and got crushed against a tree. Driver didn't make it. Passenger's been taken to the hospital."

"Bobby," Charlie says more firmly, dread filling his gut. "Why are you calling us about this?"

"The passenger was Jake Conroy."

"No."

"His sister was driving. That's D's mom, right?"

"But you said the driver didn't make it."

"No, EMS said she bled out before they were on scene."

Charlie concentrates on breathing so he doesn't have to think about sweet Katie Ayers crushed to death.

"Jake. Was he high?"

"As a kite. Charlie, is there anything we can do? I know she and Reese were close…"

Dani. Asleep in the other room, still blissfully unaware. Did D know already? And Jamie?

"Has the family been contacted?"

"The husband's down at the hospital IDing the body. As far as I know, Little Danny's at home with a neighbor."

"Okay."

"One more thing."

He's trying valiantly to stay in the moment, but he keeps slipping ahead, thinking about what he has to do next.

"What?"

"They took Jake to the hospital in cuffs. Word is they've arrested him for vehicular manslaughter. Maybe even homicide. That's why we picked up on the accident. Reese has us on the lookout for any arrests on this guy, to keep tabs on him."

"Thanks," Charlie manages before snapping the phone shut, stung by the implications of that last fact.

"Charlie?"

No. Why couldn't she have slept just a little longer? He looks up to see her leaning on the doorframe, a confiscated pair of his boxers low on her hips, her wifebeater riding up to reveal the smooth skin of her stomach, still flat but already holding their future inside. Her dark eyes are soft with sleep and concern, and her hand is already reaching to soothe the tension from his frame.

"Who was on the phone?"

"Bobby."

He wants to lie now, tell her it was just something stupid so she can have a few more hours without this awful knowledge.

"What did Stark want at four in the morning?"

Their hands are joined now, and he uses that to pull her closer and into his arms, unable to look her in the eye as he says this.

"There's been an accident."

She tenses in his arms, pushing away, but he holds her tight.

"Crews…"

"I'm sorry."

"Who? Who's dead, Charlie? Tell me. I'm a big girl."

"Katie."

"No. No, no, no," she repeats. He can feel the tears on his T-shirt. "D… He wasn't…"

"No. He was at home. Asleep."

A breath of relief leaves her small frame, but it is quickly replaced with the shudder of a sob.

"What happened?"

"Not now."

"Crews, tell me what happened." She manages to be imposing even through the tears.

"I don't know a lot. She and Jake were in an accident outside of Ventura."

She freezes, and then breaks free with a sudden push. Her eyes meet his in the dark, and his heart breaks a little.

"She was driving out to Ventura to get him. He was _high_."

"'As a kite'," he repeats Bobby's cliché.

"He _called_ her to come get him in Ventura because he was too high to drive. Like she always tells him to."

He doesn't want to tell her this part. The anger is already building up inside of her, pushing out the grief to make the pain more bearable.

"They arrested him."

"For what?"

"Vehicular manslaughter. Bobby said they may bump it up to homicide. They were the only vehicle involved."

"What? How?"

"I don't know, Dani. We can't know until we see the report."

"It's four o'clock in the morning, Charlie. Tell me this is a nightmare."

"Only the kind you're awake for."

***

After two hours of processing and crying and cursing (and Charlie giving thanks they've removed all alcohol from the house), she demands to see Daniel. Charlie doesn't know what they're walking into, what D knows and whether or not Jamie's there, but it seems like a reasonable request. She lets him drive, which is never a good sign. She stares out the window, and he doesn't even bother trying to get her to talk.

"He's gonna need a nanny."

"Dani."

"Jamie can't afford…"

"Dani," he interrupts more forcefully. "We will take care of Daniel, okay? We'll make sure he has everything he will ever need. But we don't have to think about it right now."

"Yeah, yeah I do," Dani says, her voice tight. "'Cause it's the only thing I can think about. So I don't have to think about…"

"I know, but this is the time to think about the moment."

"I don't wanna be in the moment."

"That's when you need to be the most."

She makes a face. He reaches out a hand. She threads their fingers together.

"I'm sorry," he says softly. She nods and squeezes his hand, her eyes drifting back out the window.

"I'm gonna kill him," she whispers a few minutes later.

"She wouldn't want that."

"She wanted to live, Charlie. She wanted him to grow the hell up. This wasn't a simple fuck-up. He killed her. I don't know how yet, but once I do…"

"Focus on Katie and D," he says soothingly. "We'll deal with Jake later."

She lapses back into silence, their hands still clasped. Even this early in the morning, traffic is picking up.

Ten minutes away from the Ayers' house, she says: "Pull over."

"What?"

"Want me to puke in the car, Crews? Pull. Over."

He pulls into the nearest parking lot and is out the door as soon as he throws it into park. He catches her hair and then expertly avoids any puke on his shoes.

"I'm sorry," he says once again.

"Not your fault," she grinds out, lifting her head up to meet his eyes.

"Well, it is. Just a little. This part at least. Half my fault."

"Yeah, you're right." She punches his thigh gently.

He squats beside her, cupping her face in his hands. Her eyes fill again and she looks away.

"I can't do this, Charlie."

"Which part?"

"All of it. Live without her. Be strong for Daniel. And a baby, Crews, what are we thinking?"

"Hey. Dani, we talked about this. We can do this."

"Can we? She's supposed to be here. In all the plans, she was here."

He pulls her close. He doesn't have anything to say to that.

***

"What do you _mean_ no one's told him yet?"

There she is. Anger has always been easier for Dani.

"How exactly am I supposed to tell him this, Dani?" Jamie yells back. He looks awful, understandably, but they seem content to take their grief out on each other. It's almost appropriate, since the only thing that ever bound them together is gone.

"He needs to know!"

Charlie lets them argue. Dani's okay, she can function, as long as she's angry. He wanders back to D's room, pushing the door open to reveal the boy curled on his bed, knees pulled up to his chest, tears on his face.

"Uncle Charlie?"

"Hi, buddy."

"Where's Mommy? Why're Daddy and Aunt Dani so mad?"

Charlie sits down beside the boy, putting his arm around him.

"How much did you hear, Daniel?"

"Just the yelling. Uncle Charlie, I want Mommy."

Charlie closes his eyes.

"We gotta talk, Little D." He holds the boy close.

"No! I want Mommy."

"Daniel… There was a car accident. Do you know what that means?"

"When two cars crash and people get hurt."

"Right. Your mom was in that car accident, and she got really hurt. The doctors did everything they could to save her, but sometimes people are just too hurt, and…"

D's eyes widen. He's a very bright little boy, and the wheels are turning in his head.

"You know about heaven, right?"

The boy nods, his face crumpling. "Mommy says that's where people go and become angels."

"Mommy's in heaven now, buddy."

"But angels don't come back from heaven! They stay there forever and ever. She can't!"

"I'm so sorry, Daniel."

He lashes out, sobbing and pounding against Charlie's chest. Charlie doesn't say anymore; it's enough for the boy's young system to process. He just holds him closer, rocking gently.

Dani appears in the door. Her eyes widen as she takes in the sight before her, realizing what Charlie's done. She's torn between anger and gratitude. He beckons her over and transfers Little D into her arms. He stops squirming against her softer form and goes limp as he continues to sob into her shoulder. Her tears start again; suddenly exhausted, she lays down with him in the small bed, pulling him as tight to her as she can. Charlie squeezes her hip.

"I'll be back," he whispers, going out to meet what he knows will happen next.

Jamie is in the living room, a wedding picture flat on the coffee table next to a bottle of whiskey, his head in his hands.

"I told him," Crews announces.

"You what?"

"I told D. About Kate. Dani has him now. You should go…"

Ayers is out of his seat at "D" and punching him, once across the jaw, at "go".

"That's not your place!"

"You wouldn't, and Dani shouldn't have to."

Crews straightens out, rubbing his jaw. Damn, Marines can punch.

"I would have…"

"When? After he'd listened to the two of you scream at each other and figured it out? He's smart. He would've caught on. He knows now, and you didn't have to tell him. Go comfort your son."

"I can't," Jamie deflates. "I can't face him. This isn't happening. Can't be happening."

"Sometimes you have to let the moment come."

Jamie looks disgusted. He sits back down and opens the bottle of Jack.

"Noor, Dani's mom, is coming. To help out. If you're going to get drunk, go in your room and do it away from your son and my wife. What can I do?"

"I have to call the funeral home…"

"I'll take care of it."

"Crews…"

"Go. Grieve however you have to. You have today. Then your son needs you."

***

Dani and Noor are having a heated exchange in Farsi, most likely over Noor's reluctance to allow her pregnant, mourning daughter to leave to do what she is planning. Though they weren't explicit about their destination, and bleary Jamie was oblivious, Noor obviously picked up on Charlie and Dani's plans to go visit Jake Conroy in lock up.

"You," Noor finally turns her attention to her son-in-law, slipping into English for his benefit. Charlie's Farsi is limited to food and curse words. "You shouldn't be encouraging her."

Charlie holds up his hands in defense. "I couldn't stop her if I wanted to."

Noor grumbles something about cops. Daniel sleeps in his room, having exhausted himself with crying.

"We'll be back for dinner," Dani promises.

"Do you want us to pick something up?" Charlie offers.

Noor shakes her head. "Go."

One quiet car ride later, they are at the station in Ventura where Jake is being held.

"I'm Detective Crews; this is Sergeant Reese. Detective Hart should've called ahead for us," Charlie introduces them to the officer on desk duty.

"You're here for Conroy," the man, Wright according to his nameplate, nods.

"Can you catch us up on the case?" Reese asks.

"Yeah, come with me."

Wright leads them back to the coffee room. Reese accepts the proffered coffee readily, trying to get her wits back about her. She still feels as if she's viewing everything through a fog.

"What do you know?" Wright asks as the three sit down at a circular table.

"Just that Jake Conroy got hauled in here on charges after…" Dani starts off strong but trails off, taking a deep breath. "After the accident. What exact charges and why, we're not sure."

"The DA's office is reviewing the evidence. Either vehicular manslaughter or homicide. Maybe reckless endangerment? Not sure what charge is gonna stick, but we're sure as hell gonna make one of 'em stay."

"And what is the evidence?" Crews presses.

"His blood tests, which we're sure will come back full of booze and coke. Witnesses that saw the vehicle blow through a red light and the camera from that light."

"But Katie should have been driving."

Wright gives Reese a measuring look and then continues. "The sister was driving. But Conroy was goofing around and grabbed the wheel, fighting her for control. The vehicle spun out and crushed the driver's door into a tree. ER docs checked out Conroy, just a few bumps, scratches. Some stitches. Glass went through the sister's chest. 'Least the bastard had to watch his sister bleed out."

Dani flinches, and Charlie resists the urge to take her hand. She's trying her best to be professional right now.

"Can we see him?" Charlies asks instead.

"Sure. He's still coming down, though. Twitchy as hell. We're transferring him to county in the morning."

"Does he know what he did?" Dani asks.

"Oh, yeah."

A grim set to her jaw, Dani stands. The men take her cue and stand as well, Wright immediately directing them in the direction of the cell.

TBC


	3. Angels

Title: Mango

Rating: PG-13 (some violence, angst, a couple f-bombs)

Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Kevin Tidwell, Ted Earley, a few OCs

Pairing: Crews/Reese

Summary: Crews and Reese, five years post-series. Life is changing.

Spoilers/Time Period: Set five years after One. (May 2014)

Disclaimer: Most of the characters (sans the Ayers) aren't mine, but the situation is.

**Chapter Three: Angels**

Jake's raggedy head pulls up slowly as the door to his cell opens. As soon as his eyes meet Dani Reese's, though, he scrambles for the back corner, pulling his knees up to protect his chest.

"I didn't mean it, Dani," he immediately starts rambling. "I fucked up. I _was_ fucked up. You know what that's like… Please, Dani."

"That's really what you wanna do right now, Jake? Pull the junkie card?"

"I'm just sayin' none of us, no, none of us are saints." His knees are bouncing and his hands are shaking.

Dani squats down to his level, her eyes deathly hard. "Katie was."

Jake's face crumples, and he looks away, preparing for a blow that never comes.

"God takes his angels early," Jake eeps, with the conviction of a child raised in the house of a preacher.

Dani slams her hand down on the metal cot next to Jake's head. He flinches.

"_You_ took her, Jake."

"I didn't!"

"You did, Jake. You left Daniel without a mother. Took your sister's life. How's that feel? She loved you, no matter what, saved your life a million times. And this is how you repay her?"

"Dani," Jake moans pitifully, rocking back and forth.

She stands up and looks disgusted. She takes several calming breaths and walks away.

"That's it?" Charlie asks softly as she reaches him in the doorway.

"Violence towards others is violence towards myself," she says ironically. "He's not worth it."

Charlie nods, squeezing her shoulder. "I want to talk to him."

"I'll wait for you in the car. I'm driving."

The softest hint of a sad smile passes over Charlie's face. "Okay."

Once Dani's gone, Charlie approaches Jake.

"Stand up," he orders.

Jake pauses, fear in his eyes.

"Stand up," he repeats, tone soft but brooking no argument.

Jake does as he's told. His legs are unsteady, but a hand on the wall gives him enough support. Crews fishes in his pocket and pulls out an orange. He hands it to Jake, who eyes it warily.

"N-not hungry, Detective Crews."

"Take it," Charlie urges.

"No, thank you."

"I grew it myself. In my orange grove. Well, in _our_ grove. Y'know, fifty-fifty, the whole marriage thing. She's not as into it, though. Take it."

Jake finally takes the orange but makes no move to peel it.

"I'd eat it," Crews says conversationally. "No fruit where you're going."

"W-where's that? Hell?" Jake says, gripping his shaky hand around the orange.

"Prison, Jake. Much worse than hell. In hell, you're dead; in prison, you want to be. I don't know for how long you're going, or what type. We'll let the DA sort that out. Doesn't matter in the long run, two years, twenty years… Every day feels like the first, like you're never getting out. I do know one thing for sure: you'll never see Daniel again. Dani and I will make sure of that."

Jake hangs his head again.

"Goodbye, Jake."

***

The two days after they get the news, Tuesday and Wednesday, they just go through the motions at work. They get up. Dani pukes. They go to work, Dani pukes. They meet at home where Noor, who's spent the last few nights, has dinner waiting. Dani eats what she can, and then she calls to talk to Daniel. Jamie has all but banned them from the house since Monday night, claiming he needs time with his son. It makes Dani antsy, but they respect his wishes. Later, she'll wonder if things would have been different if they hadn't.

***

"Reese."

Charlie looks up as Dani answers her phone. It's Thursday evening and they're in the living room reading, stretched out on the couch, her feet in his lap, his hand absently rubbing her ankles as he reads. Listening to the person on the other end, Dani slowly sits up straight, the color draining from her face.

"I understand." Her voice has never been more devoid of emotion. "Thank you. We'll be right there."

She clicks off the phone and then sits for a solid three seconds, staring at it. Finally, quick as lightning, her entire demeanor shift. She stands and hurls her phone across the room, where it shatters. The noise brings Noor to the top of the stairs.

"Dani?" Charlie ventures.

"_Fucking bastard_," she says through clenched teeth.

"Dani?" Noor asks, making her way down the stairs.

"Jamie put a bullet in his head."

"_What?!_" Noor hisses.

"Three hours ago. D was _in the other room_."

"Did he…"

"Ask questions in the car, Crews. We have to get him out of there, now."

She's already going towards the garage, towards the keys hanging by the door. She pauses and turns back to her mother.

"Mom, can you get D's room ready? And he's probably going to be starving."

Noor nods, and then adds something Charlie can't understand in Farsi. The tone, though, implies "Be careful".

"Dani," Charlie tries again as he slides into the passenger seat. "Did Daniel _see…_"

"I don't know," Dani admits, throwing the car into reverse. "But he definitely heard. Charlie, he called 911."

Charlie thinks back to the very serious, frequent conversations between Dani and Little D about the importance of dialing 911, what to do and say. Though they always ended with tickles, the lessons made an impression.

A few moments of silence pass over the car.

"Do you remember where the wills are?" she asks.

"Linen closet, back room. Why?"

"So no social worker tries to stand between us and Daniel."

***

It hits her again, viscerally, so much more overwhelming than the frequent morning sickness that has plagued her last several weeks. A sob catches in her throat, and she stifles it only for fear of waking the finally sleeping boy in her lap. She buries her face in Daniel's thick, wavy blond hair, cursing her suddenly rampant hormones.

No, no. She has a right to be devastated; her best friend, the person who, next to her mother, she has loved the longest in her life, is gone, stolen by cocaine and stupidity and Kate's heart-breaking inability to give up on her beloved little brother. Dani has cursed Katie's devotion before, but it was part of the reason she is alive today. Jake, however, abused that love, and stole her life.

And now Little D is without a mother and the child Katie had been so excited to meet will never know her.

Daniel's soft lashes flutter against his tan cheek; he's dreaming. Dani can only hope they are sweet, and not of the gunshot he most definitely heard when his father took his own life. They are Jamie's cheeks, Katie's lashes, mixed into D and their only legacy.

"Hi," Charlie says softly, his voice barely audible as he attempts to let Daniel keep sleeping. His long fingers gently cup her cheek, his eyes searching hers, which are puffy and swollen from crying.

"I finally got a hold of Rachel. She'll be over soon."

Dani starts to shift, trying to figure out how to maneuver out from under the sleeping six-year-old. It's much harder than it was when he was a toddler.

"No," Charlie shakes his head. "Stay. Rest. Your mom said you've had him out here all afternoon. How long has he been asleep?"

"An hour at the most."

"You doing okay?"

She nods softly.

"Get some sleep," he suggests, leaning over and pressing a kiss into her forehead. Two years of marriage, five years together, and seven years since they first met, and Dani is still surprised by how comfortable she is with his gentleness and affection.

Her eyes feel heavy, weary from the crying and lack of sleep, and the general fatigue she's told is normal in the first trimester. Her eyes drift close as he kisses her again, and she thinks that _first trimester_ is a phrase she never really expected to be familiar with. She hears Charlie lean over to kiss D's head too as she feels sleep finally overtaking her, lulled by D's steady breathing against her chest and Charlie's comforting presence.

***

"Uncle Charlie," Rachel sighs with relief as Charlie opens the front door, blessedly unharmed. She moves to embrace him, then steps away, puzzled at the darkened foyer. "Is everything okay? You sounded so serious on the phone."

He puts a finger to his lips with a sad smile and leads her into the house.

"Dani and Danny are sleeping."

As they pass by the couch, the moonlight paints Dani Reese's and Daniel Ayers's faces with a pale glow. Stepping lightly, Rachel Seybolt follows Charlie into the kitchen, where he offers her a glass of water.

"Charlie, what's going on? Why is Little D here? Shouldn't he be with his dad at a time like this?"

There's a hard set to Charlie's jaw, but a sadness in his eyes.

"Jamie Ayers killed himself yesterday afternoon. He went into his room, locked the door, and shot himself. Little Danny was playing two rooms over."

"Oh my god," Rachel says, casting her eyes over to Daniel with a new, deeper look of sympathy and understanding. Victims and witnesses.

"The uniforms called us and we got D out of there. He had called 911 like Dani showed him." He pauses. "We're named in Katie's and Jamie's wills as Daniel's guardians. Children's services granted us temporary custody this morning. We expect to make it permanent some time next week or the week after."

"Oh, Charlie. This is huge."

Charlie nods, finally tearing his eyes away from his wife and her godson. "There's more. Dani's pregnant. Ten weeks. We found out a month ago and we were waiting to tell people to be sure…"

He trails off, unsure of how to continue.

"Wow. Anything you need…"

"Stay over for a few days? The funeral's tomorrow, and we could use all the extra hands we can get. Katie's funeral, I mean. Jamie's is Monday. We're taking D tomorrow, but not Monday. Dani's mom has moved in to help, and Ted is just around the corner, but…"

"Right, of course. I'll get my stuff tomorrow.

"Thanks, Rachel."

"How are you holding up? This is a lot to handle."

"I'm just worried about Dani. Well, both of them."

***

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Her best friend reduced to a seven by seven box of ash, just as she'd asked. For the best, probably, so Daniel would have no opportunity to see her mangled body. Still. The simple marble box, heavy though it is, is too light to be Katie's legacy, even paired with the fifty pounds of sweet little boy now resting in Charlie's arms.

Ted, Olivia, Rachel and Noor all stand behind Dani, Charlie, and Little D. The latter is in the new suit Noor bought for him, matching perfectly with his Uncle Charlie. The funeral had been small, but rough. Katie left a big impression on those in her life. Dani's officers offered to show up to support their sergeant but were politely declined.

Even fewer went with them to the cemetery. The only other mourners present are Daniel's wheelchair-bound paternal grandparents and their nurses. The minister offers some words, but few are actually paying attention. The urn is slowly lowered into the earth. Daniel is too shell-shocked to do anything more than cling alternately to Crews or Reese and stare blankly ahead. Dani may be crying, but she has her sunglasses on so no one can tell.

Afterwards, the gathered mourners return to Charlie's house for dinner. There, the others try their best to occupy Daniel as the newly minted guardians speak with retired Marine First Sergeant and Mrs. Ayers.

"We don't want to take him away from you," Mrs. Ayers is quick to assure them.

Though it was a remote possibility, saying it out loud takes a huge weight off their backs.

"We're in no position to take care of him ourselves anyway. We just want to make sure we can still see our grandson," Sergeant Ayers says. "He's all we have left of James."

"Of course," Dani reassures them. "And we want him to still have a relationship with you. Whenever you want. Just call us."

They arrange to see each other on Monday, at Jamie's funeral, and to meet later in the week with D. An hour later, having spent some quality time with their dazed grandson, Sgt and Mrs. Ayers head back to the nursing home. Daniel is showing signs of sleepiness, and Ted and Olivia take their leave as well. Charlie offers to take little D up to bed after he kisses Dani and Noor goodnight.

Dani sends Noor and Rachel off to bed as well, claiming she could use the quiet time while loading the dishwasher and washing the pans. Hands in the soapy water, she lets loose all the tears she's tried to keep at bay all day, crying for Katie, and Daniel, and herself a little. The idea of becoming a mother to a newborn was terrifying enough; raising an emotionally scarred, orphaned six-year-old is just incomprehensible. At the same time? She doesn't know if she can.

Rinsing the rest of the soap away and switching on the dishwasher, she lets out a sigh. She splashes cold water on her face, and goes to check on Charlie and D. On the stairs, she drifts back to lazy Saturday afternoons at the Conroy house, sneaking up and down the stairs playing _Harriet the Spy_ while clumsy, loud, little Jake tagged along.

Shit. Is that fucking tweaker going to ruin all of her memories of Katie? He _was_ a constant, annoying presence in their youth, witness to most of their greatest exploits.

She's angry again as she reaches the top of the stairs. She makes her way down to D's room and pushes softly into the cracked door.

At the sight that greets her, all anger drains away, and for the first time in all of this mess, she thinks for just a second, that things might actually be okay.

There's a book (_Where the Wild Things Are_) closed and abandoned at the foot of the bed. The bed itself is a full-sized bed, the wooden frame tricked out to a model of Charlie's Grand National. Katie had complained when Charlie insisted on this custom-made bed three years ago, when D got his own official room. She said it was too cool, that he'd never want to sleep in his own bed at home. Dani wonders if now he asked for his simple twin.

Further up the bed, Charlie and Daniel are tangled together, asleep. Charlie still has his funeral suit on, sans tie and expensive Italian shoes. Daniel sleeps in a worn racecar t-shirt and tiny boxers, his six-and-a-half-year-old embroidered blanket clutched firmly in hand. His little body is tucked safely into the curve of Charlie's long frame, sprawled out so one hand has father onto the smooth fabric of his uncle's Oxford. Charlie is on his side, as if he'd been talking to, and then watching over, Little D.

Dani strips her heels off, followed by the black sweater she now wants to burn and the pantyhose that have bugged her all day. She then slips in to the bed and switches of the light, D tucked safely between her and Charlie. She moves in close, smelling first D's mixture of kid sweat and apple pie (Kate's favorite, served tonight) and then the fruit-infused, Charlie smell she's so used to. A long-fingered hand sleepily reached across to brush her hip, pausing at her stomach and continuing up to her shoulder, her neck, her cheek.

"Hey," he whispers.

"Shh," she warns. "Go back to sleep." Then, Katie's oft-repeated advice: "Let sleeping babies lie."

His thumb brushes softly, twice, over her cheek before retreating as he mumbles his agreement. She wants very much to lean over and kiss him, but she dares not wake Danny and sleep is quickly overtaking her with each rhythmic breath of her two companions. In sleep, her hand unconsciously rests on her belly.

TBC


	4. Groundwork

Title: Mango

Rating: PG-13 (some violence, angst, a couple f-bombs)

Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Kevin Tidwell, Ted Earley, a few OCs

Pairing: Crews/Reese

Summary: Crews and Reese, five years post-series. Life is changing.

Spoilers/Time Period: Set five years after One. (May 2014)

Disclaimer: Most of the characters (sans the Ayers) aren't mine, but the situation is.

Author's Note: There have been complaints about the tense, but that's pretty much a signature of mine, so I'm sorry if it offends anyone. Re: Jamie's suicide, some stuff is revealed in this chapter that makes it make a little more sense. Also, Dani's opinions about his suicide are totally her own and meant to fit with her character, not an editorial comment on suicide in general.

**Chapter Four: Groundwork**

Corporal James Fitzgerald Ayers is buried with full military honors befitting a much-decorated veteran of several campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Apparently, soldiers can clean their guns, too.

The whole thing makes Dani sick to her stomach, and not just because she's almost three months pregnant. Though she keeps a passive face through the funeral and burial, Charlie can see the anger beneath the surface and felt its full impact in the car this morning when, away from Daniel for the first time since Thursday, she unleashed her rage over Jamie Ayers's cowardice.

She flinches and freezes when they got to hand her one of two folded flags, this one destined for D. Charlie notices and leans forward to accept the symbol, nodding to the young Marine who offers it.

After, Dani and Charlie see Sergeant and Mrs. Ayers to their van, promising to bring D by the nursing home later in the week. On their way back to their car, Dani is worried about, and already on the phone calling, Little D. Charlie smiles just barely, mostly with his eyes, refraining from telling her that it is such a _mom_ thing to do. They're approached by a man in uniform before the connection is made, so Dani snaps the phone shut and fixes a Reese glare on the late middle-aged man.

"Mr. and Mrs. Crews," he begins.

Charlie clears his throat. "You might wanna call her Sergeant Reese. Things will go better for you."

"My apologies, Sergeant. I didn't know."

Reese nods. It's not that she minds using Charlie's name (outside of work), but she worked too damn hard for her rank to accept a plain "Mrs.".

"How can we help you, Mr…?" she asks.

"Major. Major Dray. I was the psychiatrist at the Corporal's base."

Reese and Crews remain silent, waiting for Dray to explain further.

"I don't know if you yourselves are struggling to find answers at a time like this, but I was told that you have taken custody of Corporal Ayers's son Daniel, and one day, if not now, he will want answers."

Charlie hears Dani's explanation in his head.

"_He's a fucking coward, Crews. Couldn't handle it, Abandoned his own son._"

Was there a greater sin in Dani's eyes than a father purposefully walking away from his child?

"What's the point you're approaching, Major?"

"Daniel should know someday that his father suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and that…"

"Wait. You were treating him for PTSD?" Dani demands. Katie had never said a word. Had she even known?

"Treating, no. Jamie refused all treatment since he came back from his first tour."

"You're the military! You couldn't force him?"

"Policy is…" Dray scrambles.

"To let sick, highly trained soldiers suffering from trauma _you_ ordered them into, roam the streets? You didn't even bother to tell his wife."

"I…"

"Major Dray," Charlie cuts in, more calmly than his wife. "Are you telling us that a soldier suffering from PTSD was not only untreated for a long period, but also left alone with his six-year-old son in the aftermath of his wife's murder without so much as a warning to his family?"

Dray squares his jaw. "Yes."

"You've heard of criminal negligence, right?" Charlie asks, faux-brightly.

"Pay a little more attention," Dani says, deadly calm again. "Next time, someone will find some charges to stick."

The implicit "_get out of my sight_" is picked up on, and Major Dray vacates their presence with a curt nod. Dani looks up to Charlie.

"Let's go home," she sighs.

***

"_Aunt Dani?" D questions._

_Dani looks up from her very serious task of grilled cheese making for herself and Katie to answer Daniel, who's contentedly munching away at his own sandwich. He's seated at the counter, towel draped over the stool, goggles pushed up onto his head, feet swinging_.

"_What's up, D?"_

_Charlie comes in behind her and steals his grilled cheese away with a quick kiss to her temple, moving to join D._

"_Are you and Uncle Charlie married?"_

_Her grilled cheese has suddenly become even more interesting. _

"_Out of the mouths of babes," Katie teases, trying her hardest not to laugh._

"_No, D," Dani answers the four-year-old_. _"No, we're not."_

"_Why not?" he presses._

_Katie snorts. Charlie grins._

"_That's a very good question, Little Danny," Charlie tells him._

"_You should get married," D informs them._

"_Yeah, why's that?" Charlie smiles._

"'_Cause you live in the same house."_

"_He must have been talking to my mother," Dani grumbles._

"_And weddings are fun," D ignores her and continues._

_Katie laughs. "We just went to his babysitter's wedding. He liked the dancing and the free juice."_

"_Aha. The powers of free juice and Maamaan-bee have combined," Charlie teases, using the variation of the Farsi for grandma (maamaan bozorg) that Daniel has invented for Noor Reese. "Well, Little D, I will get you some free orange juice right now, and we'll see what we can do about some dancing when we go back out to pool. Will that do for now?'_

_D shrugs and nods, now entirely focused and getting every last piece of sandwich that _isn't_ crust off of his sandwich, leaving two L-shaped crust-husks in his wake. _

_Katie grins and meets Dani's eyes, "Kids say the darndest things."_

_She ducks the incoming kitchen towel even as Dani starts to throw it_.

***

"Good morning," Charlie smiles warmly as her eyes creep open. He leans down to kiss her softly. "You're not gonna puke, are you?"

"Romantic, Crews," she groans and pushes him away.

Still grinning, he captures her as she tries to get up, pulling her back down and spooning himself behind her. His face quickly buries into her neck, his hand finds her stomach.

"I'm not a teddy bear," she grumbles. "Or a Troll doll."

He chuckles into her shoulder. Settling back into his arms, she looks to the nightstand clock.

"Crap."

"Puke?" he questions, immediately freeing her.

"No. Oversleep. We have to get Daniel up now or he'll be late to school."

"Okay. I'll start breakfast; you wake the devil. Meet downstairs in 15?"

She pulls on a pair of sweatpants over his boxers and then leans back to actually kiss him good morning.

"You taking him this morning?" she asks on her way to the door.

"Yeah, I'll get dressed. I'm gonna go check on the grove afterward, so I'll be gone 'til dinner. Can you get him to his therapist?"

Dani nods as she turns to leave. "Mom and I are going shopping for summer clothes for D. He's outgrowing all of his shorts. Need anything?"

"Not at Gap Kids."

She rolls her eyes and is out the door.

***

"Morning, Little D," Charlie greets the boy as he wanders into the kitchen, school uniform of khaki shorts and navy polo complete except for his stocking feet.

"Mornin', Uncle Charlie."

"Where'd you put Aunt Dani?"

D flicks his eyes down, briefly, then shrugs.

"Alright. Eat up. I'm taking you to school today."

"I don't really wanna go to school," D admits.

"Why's that? First grade is great."

"My friends all act weird now."

Charlie smiles sadly. "I know, buddy. But school is important. I'll talk to your teacher."

"Okay," D acquiesces.

Dani comes down then, arms full of sheets, with a grim set to her jaw. Charlie follows her into the laundry room.

"Another wet night?"

"He was mortified," she says, voice full of sympathy.

"Poor buddy. Dr. Brooks said it was normal for him to regress, though. Hey, I think we should think about changing schools next year."

She looks up from shoving the sheets into the washer and takes the offered detergent.

At the inferred 'why?' in her look, he explains: "Well, for one, his school right now is in Van Nuys."

"But all his friends are there."

"He says they treat him differently now."

"Do we wanna mess up his routine even more?"

"A clean break might be good. To go somewhere he's not 'that kid'. Ask Dr. Brooks what he thinks?"

She nods and starts the washer.

"All done," Daniel announces from the doorway.

"Did you put your plate…?" Dani starts.

"In the sink," D nods.

"Nice work," Charlie praises. "Grab your shoes and your backpack."

"Don't forget to check it," Dani reminds him.

"Right. Teacher says we have to make sure the homework is in there."

"I did my homework," D complains.

"We know. That's why we have to make sure it's actually in your backpack. Don't wanna get to school without your homework, do you?" Dani smiles at the boy.

Charlie glances at his watch. "Alright. We're late. Let's do it this way. You get the shoes and kiss your godmom. I will get your backpack and check for homework. Deal?"

"Deal," Daniel agrees. He goes to get his shoes from the pile next to the washer, slipping into them quickly and then bending to tie them. Then he stands up and reaches for Dani, burying his face in her middle and then tilting his head up for kiss.

"Be good."

"Okay."

"And have the teacher call us if you need us."

"Okay, Aunt Dani," Daniel sighs.

"And less attitude, mister."

He smiles softly for her. "Sorry."

"Yeah, okay." She can't help but smile back at him. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

"I'll pick you up after school. You have an appointment."

"Dr. Brooks?" He makes a face.

"Yes, no complaining."

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," he salutes.

Her breath catches, like it does every time one of Daniel's few Jamie-isms comes forth. His Katie-isms she's come to adore in just the few weeks since the funeral, like she still has a little piece of her friend around. The quirks he's inherited from his father just bring terrible memories.

"Okay," she recovers just as Charlie enters the room with Little Danny's backpack. "Have fun."

"Bye, Aunt Dani," Daniel calls over his shoulder as he heads out the laundry room door into the massive garage. "Oh. And say 'bye to the baby for me."

"Seriously, you two, it's a fetus. It doesn't know you're talking to it."

"Actually," Charlie grins. "Studies show…"

"I know what the studies show." She swats at him as he heads out the door.

"I'll be home for dinner!" Charlie calls as he makes sure D is buckled.

Dani rolls her eyes and goes to eat breakfast. She's really craving bananas.

***

_"Do you think Little D's right?" Dani asks later. Charlie's sitting up in bed, reading a book, and she goes about getting ready to turn in for the night._

"_About what? When he says the water's too chlorinated in the pool, or a recent crop of peaches is too soft? Yes, I absolutely trust his young judgment. When he tells me quite seriously that the dinosaurs are coming back? No, I don't think he's right. But I told him we're prepared, just in case."_

"_Crews."_

"_He's pretty sure the dinos'll be scared of you, so you're in good shape. I think I'll stick close to you if the dinosaurs come back to reclaim their Earth."_

"_Crews."_

"_What? We're boys; we talk about these things."_

"_I'm not asking if he's right about dinosaurs, though he is eagerly awaiting their arrival. I'm talking about us. Getting married."_

"_Dani Reese, are you proposing to me?"_

"_No. Maybe? Don't you think we should at least talk about it? Think about it?"_

"_I think about it," he says seriously._

"_Really?"_

"_Of course," he answers simply, setting down his Zen book and sitting up straight in their bed._

_She's been slowly making her way around the room, straightening things and avoiding his gaze. Their guns and badges sit on his dresser, and she arranges them a couple times, fidgeting._

"_I don't think he's right about why we should get married, though weddings are fun," Charlie clarifies. _

"_But you think we should."_

_She feels his eyes on her, measuring, taking her in, all of her, with those searching eyes._

"_I think we could. Dani, look at me."_

_Her hands stop their fidgeting, and she turns to him. He smiles gently, mostly with his eyes._

"_We're here, in the moment, now. And I always try to stay in the moment. I like when you're here in the moment, with me. You keep me here."_

_Dani approaches the bed. She climbs in on his side, one knee landing on either side of his lap. Her hands brush against his sweet face, holding it in her hands. He watches her, eyes full of love, just patiently waiting for her next move. He knows her so well, knows when to push and when to let her be, when she's avoiding and when she's thinking. She kisses him, his mouth warm and familiar and intoxicating against hers. His hands settle in the small of her back. They drift apart, and she opens her eyes, meeting his._

"_I'm staying right here. Keeping you right here," she promises._

"_And I don't need dancing and free juice to know that."_

"_Let the juice go, Crews," she groans playfully._

"_It was a cute thing to say. He likes juice. And weddings."_

"_It would have to be small. Ted, Rachel, the Ayers, my mom. A couple more. Bobby? And I can't promise I'll wear white. No churches."_

"_What about the orange grove?"_

_She smiles, that rare, lights up her whole face, softens her eyes, smile that he first saw so long ago in that hospital._

"_Wanna get married?"_

"_That's the second time you've proposed to me tonight."_

"_I promise not to tell Stark."_

"_No, I'm not ashamed."_

"_But you still haven't answered."_

"_You already know the answer."_

"_Charlie…"_

"_How about in two weeks?"_

"_Two weeks?"_

"_Why wait? We'll put a tent up, and after a small ceremony, we'll have a party with at least all of your family. Maybe some of the station?"_

"_We'll have to make sure it fits into Mom's schedule."_

"_Of course."_

_They stare and smile at each other for a few minutes._

"_Dani, are we getting married?"_

"_Yeah, I think we are."_

"_Need to call Katie? She'd want to know."_

"_Not the first thing on my mind right now."_

_Her grin turns a bit wicked as she pushes Charlie back down._

_He smiles, another one that actually reaches his eyes, and kisses her._

"_Okay," he tortures her a little. "But then you have to call Kate."_

"_Crews," she rolls her eyes. "Katie will understand."_

"_I don't want to get in trouble!"_

***

tbc


	5. Adaptation

Title: Mango

Rating: PG-13 (some violence, angst, a couple f-bombs)

Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Kevin Tidwell, Ted Earley, a few OCs

Pairing: Crews/Reese

Summary: Crews and Reese, five years post-series. Life is changing.

Spoilers/Time Period: Set five years after One. (May 2014)

Disclaimer: Most of the characters (sans the Ayers) aren't mine, but the situation is.

Author's Note: A bit of a break from the doom and gloom in the form of flashbacks. Everybody likes a nice wedding, right? (Lil D most surely does.) Sorry for the long delay.

* * *

**Chapter Five: Adaptation**

"I cannot believe we forgot a lunch. And a sweater! Classrooms are air-conditioned and cold. We're really sucking at this."

"Dani…"

"I know, I know. It's only been a few weeks. We're learning. I got that speech from Dr. Brooks today."

She looks over his shoulder into the living room, to where Daniel and Noor are talking and folding laundry. D is pretty much on sock duty.

"Okay, no speeches."

"Thank you."

"But we're going back to work on Monday. It's just going to get crazier."

"By the time we get six-year-old down, we'll have to learn newborn."

She shoots him a glare and climbs up onto one of the counter stools.

"Besides, your mom is here to help. And they get along so well. We're lucky to have her."

"Except for that whole my mother is now living with us thing. Don't get me wrong, I love my mother. It's just a weird adjustment."

"For all of us," Charlie agrees, resting his hip on the island counter. "But I like having your mom around."

"That's because you like her cooking."

"That is a plus, definitely. And I like our eventual three on two odds much better than two on two."

She snorts. "That's the truth." Dani looks up, feeling his eyes on her. "What?"

Still grinning, Charlie shrugs. "Just thinking."

"Well, do your thinking on your way to the freezer. What kind of ice cream do we have?"

Charlie's grin breaks into a full smile. "I love food craving Dani."

"Shut up and start scooping."

"Yes, dear," he teases. "So, our last weekend before getting back to work. What do you want to do?"

"Sleep."

"That can be arranged. Anything else?"

"Did I mention sleep?"

"I smell ice cream!" Daniel announces hurrying into the kitchen.

"You _smell_ ice cream? Really?" Dani questions.

"Yup."

"Right. Take a seat, buddy. Tell us about your day. Sorry we forgot your lunch."

"It's okay. My friends' parents do that sometimes, too. What kind of ice cream are we having?"

"Whatever Aunt Dani wants."

"You mean whatever Mango wants," D corrects.

"'Mango'?" Dani questions incredulously.

"The baby," D informs her.

"We decided this morning," Charlie explains. "We can't just keep calling it 'It'."

"What happened to no fruity names?"

"It's not a real name."

"Just until it has a real name," D spells out, wondering why his godmother doesn't understand the perfectly reasonable decision he and Uncle Charlie came to in the car that morning.

"As long as it doesn't stick. Oh, and cookie dough," she tells Charlie as he surveys their choices. "Maamaan, do you want ice cream?"

"Coming!"

"What are you gonna name Mango, Aunt Dani?"

"Not Mango."

"Aunt Dani…"

"Ask your uncle."

"No, no. Your aunt gets final say."

"What are they bickering about, Daniel?" Noor asks as she claims the third stool.

"Mango."

"The fruit?"

"The baby."

"Ah, yes."

Charlie provides three bowls of chocolate chip cookie dough, but settles for a papple for himself, still full from Noor's yummy dinner.

"Can Grandpa Ted bring Teddy over to play this weekend?"

"I'll call tomorrow and ask," Charlie assures him. "Eat your ice cream."

Daniel grins and digs into it with gusto. A few bites in he pauses. Dani's the first to notice.

"D, what's up?"

"Cookie dough. Mommy's favorite."

His face is pensive, as if he's not sure if he should be upset about this.

"Yeah. Yeah, it was." Dani reaches a hand to his shoulder. "It's yummy isn't it?"

"She saves the dough for last, 'cause it's the best part."

Blinking back her own tears, Dani nods. "Let's do that, huh?"

***

_Ted and D are his only company in the orchard office, converted into a changing room for today only. Bobby Stark and Jamie Ayers were here earlier, but they aren't officially in the wedding party. Bobby volunteered to make sure set up is going okay for the reception while Jamie, on six months leave from Afghanistan but still looking every bit the soldier in his dress blues, sets off to check on the arrangements for the ceremony. _

"_Who's giving her away?" Ted asks, watching as Charlie patiently fixes fidgeting D's bow tie. Bent over, Charlie's jacket falls just so, revealing his sidearm, tucked in an underarm holster. Ted would definitely not be surprised if Charlie's beautiful bride-to-be were packing heat as well today. They certainly belong together._

"_Nobody. She's a 'grown woman', she 'can give herself away'."_

"_Makes sense." Also not surprising._

"_Is Teddy coming?" Daniel asks after his playmate, just a few months younger._

"_He's out with Olivia," Ted assures the boy he won't be bored._

_Daniel nods, reaching for his pillow._

"_Okay, Little Danny. What do you have to do?"_

"_Walk straight."_

_Charlie nods._

"_Hold the pillow."_

_Another nod._

"_Not fall over."_

_Charlie grins. "Did Aunt Dani teach you that?"_

_Daniel grins and nods. _

"_What next?"_

"_Stand still. Give Grandpa Ted the pillow."_

_He's picked up the endearment from Teddy._

"_Good job. It's very important." Charlie picks up a glass off the side table. "It's apple, but try not to spill. Plenty more where it came from, after the ceremony."_

"_Juice," D grins._

"_Yes, as much as you want."_

_Ted shakes his head._

"_Charlie," he finally broaches the subject. "Is there a certain reason – " He glances at D, who is oblivious. "Is there a reason we threw this wedding together in two weeks? There aren't any major upcoming expenses I should know about?"_

"_No, Ted," Charlie shakes his head. "No 'expenses'. Little D thought we should get married."_

"_You're getting married because a four-year-old thought it was time?"_

_Charlie shrugs. "He's very smart. You should ask him about dinosaurs coming back."_

"_It's okay, Grandpa Ted. Aunt Dani will protect us."_

"_See!" Charlie grins. "Another great reason to marry her."_

"_You two really need to let the dinosaur apocalypse go."_

"_Don't worry. Ted. We'll let you in to our Dani-protected bunker. Ooh, can we build one of those? In a tree? Like a tree house."_

_Little D nods enthusiastically._

"_Dinosaurs are tall. And those that aren't can jump."_

_Charlie leans in conspiratorially. "We really just want the tree house."_

"_Okay. And you're sure about not having a pre-nup? I know it's Dani, but as your financial advisor…"_

"_No pre-nup," Charlie says, cutting Ted off. "Thank you for your concern." He glances at his watch. "You look nice, Ted."_

"_Aren't you nervous, Charlie?"_

_He, personally, had been a wreck before both of his weddings, the second one especially, though that was probably because he was much less hung over._

"_It's simple addition."_

_Ted is pretty sure that's Zen._

_A knock on the door breaks up their philosophical discussion._

"_Mommy, no girls," Little Danny complains._

"_Oh hush. You're just mad we wouldn't let you spy for Uncle Charlie. I'm here to collect the ring bearer. The justice wants you two, pronto. Time to get this show on the road."_

_Ted takes in a nervous breath._

"_Ted, the four-year-old is calmer than you are," Charlie teases._

_Katie Ayers smiles, looking beautiful in her simple black cocktail dress._

"_Mommy, you look pretty."_

"_Why thank you, baby. You're so well trained. Say good luck to Uncle Charlie."_

"_Good luck!" Danny lilts. "Oh, and don't fall."_

_Katie chuckles. "Sound wedding day advice. See you on the other side."_

_***_

_The DJ plays slow, classic Sinatra, as the guests rock gently across the improvised dance floor. Through the clear plastic window of the tent, the setting sun illuminates the rows and rows of orange trees. The sun also filters in to catch a head of warm, fiery hair at the center of the dance floor. There, a tall man in a ridiculously expensive tuxedo, moves his smaller, dark-haired dance partner around the thick crowd of extended family. He leans down to say something so she can hear him. The woman, dressed in beautiful burgundy, tips her head back and laughs at whatever her new son-in-law has just told her. _

_Dani watches this from a foldout chair, nursing sore feet and a club soda. Her many aunts, uncles, and cousins mix and mingle with a few, select co-workers (including Bobby and Jane Seever) from the station, plus, of course, Charlie's family: Ted and Rachel, with their significant others (and Ann and Teddy) in tow. It's probably the most relaxed wedding reception she's ever attended, which is probably not something most brides can say about their own wedding day. For Dani, though, it's just a party, a party celebrating a formality, and a party that is mostly for the benefit of her Charlie and her mother. She has even amazed herself with how decreasingly nervous and uncomfortable she has become over the past two weeks. She's accepted that she can't imagine life without Charlie (no Reese without Crews) and that marriage is just a legal affirmation of that._

_The music changes to the faster-paced "Fly Me to the Moon" as the DJ continues his Sinatra kick. Noor begs off another dance with Charlie, and Rachel cuts in._

_As couples continue to twirl about the floor, a gaggle of children hopped up on sugar and feeding off each other's energy, weave their way through a sea of dress shoes, suits, and pantyhose. For the most part, the group is comprised of her cousins or their children, but Daniel's towhead has banded with them, and Teddy follows quickly at his heels. As they pass Charlie, Dani watches him pause his dancing and grab each boy under an arm, spinning them around and then setting them both down. All three join in laughter as the boys dizzily wobble off to rejoin the group. His eyes meet hers, like he feels her watching and he smiles with a short little wave before resuming his dance with Rachel._

"_It's your wedding reception," Katie's voice cuts in. "I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be out there dancing the night away. Or at least spending it with your husband."_

"_Just taking a moment," she assures her. _

"_It was a beautiful ceremony. And with all the trees around." Katie slumps into the seat next to her. _

"_What was yours like?" Dani asks with the slightest wince. _

_When twenty-three-year-old Katie Conroy had gotten married, Dani Reese had been deeply undercover, and starting her downward spiral. _

"_The normal church wedding. White dress," she says pointedly, teasingly, gesturing to the silvery grey of Dani's dress. "Daddy officiated, even though he was too sick to walk. We had the reception in the parish hall, and then we stayed at a fancy hotel for a few days. Oh, speaking of, where are you going on your honeymoon?"_

"_You didn't think to ask that before now?" _

"_You gave me two weeks to prepare for my best friend's wedding! That's not very much notice."_

"_Sorry. It's your kid's fault."_

"_Something we should never forget. But really, where are you going? Somewhere fun and exotic?"_

"_We're just renting a house on the beach an hour or so up the road. Just for the weekend."_

"_What?! You mean you married a man worth over 50 million and you're going 'an hour' up the road? Make that man take you to Hawaii, at least." _

"_We have to go to work. We couldn't take more than the weekend off. I just got promoted two months ago."_

_Katie grins and shakes her head. "Cops. Can I go to Hawaii instead?"_

"_Sure," Dani rolls her eyes. "Talk to Crews."_

_As they lapse into comfortable silence, broken only when Daniel wanders over, bow tie hanging loose from his unbuttoned collar like a Rat Packer. _

"_Hey handsome. Having fun?" Katie asks as she pulls him into her arms._

_D nods sleepily, resting his head on her shoulder. _

"_Poor sleepy buddy. Don't you think Aunt Dani looked pretty tonight?"_

_Dani rolls her eyes._

"'_Course," D yawns. _

"_Such a charmer, Little D," Dani teases. _

"_Can I have more grape juice?"_

"_Did someone ask for more juice?" _

_Charlie swoops in with a glass of grape juice. Daniel reaches for it, grinning at his 'uncle'. _

"_Thanks."_

"_You spoil him."_

"_I promised free juice for a job well done. I'm just holding up my end of the bargain," Charlie defends against Katie's mostly joking reproach. He leans against the back of Dani's chair, his hand gently on her shoulder. He leans down to whisper something in her ear. She shoots him a skeptical look, but gives him her hand so he can help her up. "D, I'm stealing one of your lovely ladies. Enjoy the juice."_

_D gives him a thumbs up as he leads Dani back to the dance floor._


	6. Attitude

Title: Mango

Rating: PG-13 (some violence, angst, a couple f-bombs)

Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Kevin Tidwell, Ted Earley, a few OCs

Pairing: Crews/Reese

Summary: Crews and Reese, five years post-series. Life is changing.

Spoilers/Time Period: Set five years after One. (July 2014)

Disclaimer: Most of the characters (sans the Ayers) aren't mine, but the situation is.

Author's Note: Sorry, sorry. Real life is not great. I was hoping to hold out until this story was done, but that won't be until this summer. I decided I would go ahead and post the two chapters I've been hoarding. This is up today. Chapter Seven will be up in the next week or two.

**Chapter Six: Attitude**

Dani takes a deep breath and knocks on the doorframe.

"Captain, can I have a minute?"

"Sure, Sergeant. Come in," Tidwell says amiably, gesturing her in. "How's life in uniform?"

"Fine. Bums, crazies, petty theft, the usual."

"Yeah, well, you're doing your time. I'm sure they'll give you your own detectives soon."

She turns to close the door behind her, which gets Tidwell's attention, thought not in the way it used to. Now, it usually means he's about to get yelled at. He really needs to talk to Crews about why Tidwell's still getting in trouble with Dani, even after Charlie _married_ her. (That fact still hits a nerve.)

"Everything okay, personally?" he ventures. "I mean, Little D settling in okay? Gotta be rough. And you guys? I mean, you went zero to kid at warp speed."

Another fact that niggles at him.

"We're getting along. I'm actually here to talk to you about some leave."

"Leave?" He asks, rifling around with the paperwork on his desk. "Reese, you just barely got back from your family leave to help D with the transition. When exactly are you going to need this leave?"

"About four months."

"Four months. Why are you asking now?"

"'Cause I'm probably gonna need to be on desk duty until then."

Realization starts to dawn in Tidwell as he raises his head up to meet her eyes.

"You're pregnant," he concludes, in the same moment she admits, "I'm pregnant."

Tidwell looks like a kicked puppy as he sadly smiles, "Congratulations. Tell Crews I owe him a couple stogies."

She looks a little nauseated at the mention of such an event.

It's not that he wants to be where Crews is anymore (at least not any more than any heterosexual man on the planet), but that he _had_ wanted that. He'd foolishly, despite the self-destructive behavior and her obvious connection to Charlie Crews, believed he had a future with Dani. Wife number four, maybe a couple kids this time. Seeing someone else get what you once wanted so badly, well, honestly, it sucks.

She takes another deep breath. "I was going to wait a couple more weeks, but Charlie's, understandably, worried about me on the streets."

'Charlie'. When had she ever, consciously or otherwise, called him 'Kevin'? Or taken any of his worries about her and not only labeled them 'understandable' but also _altered her behavior_ because of them? No, Crews knows Reese, gets Reese, on a level no one else has ever reached.

"I'm glad you told me. I'll take care of the paper work. You want Stark to fill in for you in the field?" he asks, still surprised at how Stark has gone from persona non grata to right hand man.

She nods. "He'll handle it, knows the guys, knows my style."

"You tell your officers yet?"

"No, that's my next step."

"They're not gonna let you walk down the street to get coffee without an escort," he teases.

"I'll beat it out of them," she assures.

He studies her face, notices the subtle changes; it's just a little wider, a little softer around the edges. It looks good on her.

"Really, Dani. I'm happy for you," he says sincerely. "You want a boy or a girl?"

"Just healthy."

Because she can't risk enough to ask for anything, not with the things she's seen, the grief she's experienced, the good she's had taken away.

"Crews got a preference?"

"Girl," she smiles. "One of each. Alright, Captain. I'm gonna go break the news to my officers, and then head home for dinner. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Sergeant."

Officer Sara Winn, the left to Bobby's right, meets her at the door.

"Everything okay, Sergeant Reese? I got the uniforms assembled, just like you asked."

"Thanks, Winn. Everything's fine. Just gotta make an announcement."

***

"Where's the picture, Sarge?"

"Yeah, c'mon, Sarge. Why won't you show us a pic of the little Sarge?"

"No," Reese repeats, studiously refusing to look up at Ruíz and Stone's imploring faces. "And don't call it 'Little Sarge'."

"What are we supposed to call it then?"

"Charlie says 'Mango'. 'Cause, you know, it can be a girl or a boy," Bobby adds, joining them.

Dani decides that it wouldn't be professional or boss-like to groan.

"Oh, and Charlie's got the sonogram of Little Mango Crews over at his desk."

Ruíz and Stone run off to the Detectives' room.

"Dammit, Crews," Dani sighs, finally looking up from the paperwork.

"Better clean that mouth up, Boss. You're gonna be a momma in what? Four and a half months? Mid-November, right?" Bobby grins. "Hey, that picture of Little D holding Mango's picture is pretty cute. How's he handling the whole thing?"

Dani's face softens. "He's really excited about being a big brother. Apparently he's asking all of his friends and camp counselors for tips."

"And Charlie said he's settling in okay, otherwise."

"Yeah, seems to be. We're probably going to be changing schools in the fall, give him a fresh start. We're hoping it won't be too traumatic, but he seems to be looking forward to it."

"Good. Oh, and Branch and Pella caught that vandal. They're asking if you can join them in the break room for advice on the best way to go at this kid to get him to confess to the robbery in that building he tagged. We've got good circumstantial evidence, but a confession would really help the case. And then Winn's got the next batch of performance reviews for you to go over with her."

"I'm starting to think there's no way a newborn can be needier than you guys."

"Oh, it's possible, but at least you've got good practice."

***

"Guys, I'm home!" Dani calls as she enters the house. She strips off her badge and gun, setting the latter in its lockable drawer and turning the combination. "Hello?"

"The boys are out back," her mother calls from the living room.

Dani stops off briefly to greet her mother, then wanders into the backyard to find Charlie and Little D, stripping off her shoes and stretching out her back as she goes.

She hears them before she sees them, the steady rhythm of leather falling into leather, their amiable chatter.

"Uncle Charlie," D says as she rounds the corner. Charlie is scooping a baseball off the ground. "You're not so good at this."

Dani bites back a laugh as Charlie puts on an annoyed face and wipes his brow with his sleeve.

"I _used _to be good at this. I just haven't played in a while," he defends.

Daniel looks skeptical. Charlie pulls back to throw the ball again. It's a little to D's right, but he effortlessly leans over and lets it fall right into his glove. Grinning, he adjusts the bill of his Dodgers cap.

"Show off."

"It's okay, Uncle Charlie. Practice makes perfect."

"Ha! Run for this one."

"Alright."

Daniel takes a sprint away from Charlie, which happens to put him in the direction of the pool. Charlie throws the ball, far. Dani sees it coming and calls out:

"D! Watch out!"

The boy's focus is on the ball, though, and he runs right into the pool.

"Crews!" Dani objects.

"Sorry!"

D, a strong swimmer, comes up sputtering, ball in his glove.

"You caught that?" Charlie asks as he jogs over to help the boy out of the pool.

D nods and then holds his leather glove towards Charlie. "Get the glove out of the water."

"Boys," Dani complains, shaking her head at D's worry over his sporting equipment.

"Hi, Aunt Dani! Did you see me fall in the water?"

Dani has her arms crossed under her chest, still pretty weirded out that there's a little something there to rest on. Charlie hauls Daniel up by his shoulders.

"Oh, I saw," Dani assures them.

D grins. "Cool, huh?"

"Sure."

"We should probably put the pool fence up before playing catch next time," Charlie tells Little D.

"But, Uncle Charlie, it's hot. You should get in the pool, too."

"Take your clothes off at the door and tell Maamaan-bee that you need a towel," Dani instructs, shooing the boy into the house after he gives her a soaked hug.

"Accident," Charlie defends as he approaches his wife, holding up the wet glove for protection.

"Mhmm."

He smiles at her faux-stern expression.

"Don't be mad," he teases.

"Not mad."

"That's always what you say when you _are_ mad."

"Crews," she sighs, still fighting off her own grin. "I'm not mad."

"But you called me Crews. You do _that_ when you're mad."

"Or annoyed. Or at work. Or not thinking about it."

"Okay, I'll give you that one," Charlie concedes, wrapping his arms around her. "Maybe you're not mad."

"Not mad," she says again, this time into his chest.

"Annoyed?"

"A little. He's not a puppy."

"No, he's more fun than a puppy. Wait, we should get a puppy!"

"No." Dani says firmly, pushing away from him and looking him in the eyes. "No puppy. And if you say one word about a puppy to Daniel, you're sleeping on the couch."

"Why no puppy?"

"Crews, we're going to have a baby! We can't have a kid, a baby, _and _a puppy."

"What about a grown dog?"

"Crews!"

***

Dani closes her eyes and sighs. She knows it isn't his fault that sometimes he just gets into these awful moods and lashes out at her. He knows she'll love him, no matter what, and he has been through hell.

But the baby's started kicking her bladder, and she barely sleeps at night.

"Fine. Just go outside. Stay where I can see you, and don't go in the trees."

D huffs his agreement and skulks out. Dani stretches out her lower back and starts in on her paperwork again. She doesn't like when he gets like this, when there's no reasoning or cuddling him out of it. This isn't the little D she knows.

The summer's been hard, and it's only mid-July. Charlie and Dani have gone back to work full-time (for the next few months in Dani's case) and he's gone from day camp to day camp, trying to make friends who don't know he's 'that kid'. When not in camp, he and Noor spend their days together. Dani has the day off, though, and sent Maamaan-bee off to her sister's for a kid-free day, hoping to get some paperwork out of the way and then spend the afternoon doing something fun. Daniel hadn't taken well to the first part.

There's a dull thump outside, and then a scream. Dani reaches for her gun and hurries to the window. D's alone, but crumpled at the base of one of the orange trees in the backyard. Dani sets her gun back in its drawer and runs out back.

"D! D, what happened?"

Danny is sobbing, right arm pulled tight against his chest as he writhes in pain.

"Shit," she curses, realizing he must've fallen out of the tree. She panics, coming quickly to his side.

"Let me see, buddy."

Oh god, how could she let this happen?

Daniel howls in pain as she moves to check it. There's no blood, so it didn't break skin; that's good.

"Can you move it, D?"

He just cries in response. She knees down beside him, cupping his face in her hand. She wants to pull him into her arms, but she's wary of jostling his injury.

"Hey, it's okay," she tries to soothe. Panic hangs at the edge of her voice. "We'll get you fixed up."

He takes gasping breaths. "I…I…I want my mommy."

Dani winces. So does she.

TBC


	7. Fragile

Title: Mango

Rating: PG-13 (some violence, angst, a couple f-bombs)

Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Kevin Tidwell, Ted Earley, a few OCs

Pairing: Crews/Reese

Summary: Crews and Reese, five years post-series. Life is changing.

Spoilers/Time Period: Set five years after One. (July 2014)

Disclaimer: Most of the characters (sans the Ayers) aren't mine, but the situation is.

Author's Note: Alright, this is the last chapter for a bit. This hiatus will last probably a month at the shortest, two months at the longest. I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter Seven: Fragile**

"Hey," Charlie grins warmly as he picks up Dani's call. "How's your day off?"

Dani takes a shaky breath.

Charlie immediately loses all cheer, reaching for his car keys.

"What's wrong?"

"We're going to the hospital. Daniel fell out of a tree. He…"

"Wait," Charlie interrupts, already on his feet and pulling on his jacket. "Is he okay? Are you in an ambulance?"

"I think he broke his arm, Charlie. Ted and Olivia came over; he's gonna drive us there."

Charlie leans over to write, 'Hospital. D. Broken arm' on a scrap of paper. He slides it over to Hart and then points to Tidwell's office. Hart nods and Charlie's out the door.

"I broke him, Charlie." She sounds so fragile, and it kills him. "They're going to take him away," she adds, softer.

"No," he says firmly. "No one's taking him away."

Their last vestige of Katie, but more, now their son, every day a little more theirs.

"Dani, I'll meet you there. Just hold his hand and be there for him."

"He doesn't want me; he wants Katie."

"He wants you," he reassures her. "Just be there. I'm getting in the car now. Which hospital?"

***

"Ms. Romero, this is Charlie Crews."

"Detective, hello. To what do I owe the honor?"

"We're at the hospital. Daniel fell out of a tree this morning. He broke his right collarbone. I know this is kind of thing that flags on your cases, so I wanted to be the one to tell you."

"Thank you, Detective, but that's unnecessary."

"No, I know you have to investigate these things, but Reese is really upset. She's worried that you'll take him away."

"That's a little premature. I'll come down to the hospital in the morning. Will you still be there?"

"Yes. They said sometime tomorrow afternoon they'll release him."

"Okay. I'll come down, I'll talk to Daniel, and the doctors, and you and Sergeant Reese. We'll go from there. Detective, children break bones every day."

"Try telling that to Reese," Charlie murmurs.

Ms. Romero laughs softly. "That is a good sign, Detective. All mothers are that way. I'd be concerned if you two were not upset. I'll see you all tomorrow."

***

"No," Daniel says as Lily Romero walks into his room. "No, you can't take me."

"D, shh," Dani soothes, squeezing his good hand, even though she obviously feels the same way. "Ms. Romero just wants to talk to you."

"Hello, Daniel," Romero greets softly. "How are you feeling?"

Little Danny has his entire right arm and shoulder set in an immobilizing cast, so he shrugs with his left side.

"Okay. Hurts less now."

Dani gives him a sharp look and a poke in the hip at his attitude.

"Really. Did it hurt a lot yesterday?"

Duly chastised, Daniel answers: "Yes, ma'am."

"Well, I'm glad it's feeling better. Maybe next time you'll think twice before climbing that tree unsupervised."

Reese flinches.

Daniel answers, "Yes, ma'am."

"And how's your summer going? Are you having fun? Have you done anything exciting?"

"Maamaan-bee takes me to the beach a lot. And at night, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Dani are home, so we do stuff."

"What kinda stuff?"

"Friday's movie night. Game night is Tuesday?" He looks to his godmother for confirmation. "Yeah, Tuesday. And next week Uncle Charlie is taking us to the Dodgers game."

"Oh, yeah? Do you like baseball?"

"It's my favorite," Daniel says, matter-of-factly.

"So, Daniel. I'm going to send Aunt Dani down to find Uncle Charlie, okay? I need to talk to you, and I'm sure she's hungry."

"The baby's always hungry," he intones seriously. "Mango likes fruit."

"Mango?"

Dani rolls her eyes. "It's what he and Crews call the baby."

"I see. Well, let's let her go make sure Mango is happy, and we'll have a little chat."

D bites his lip. "Okay."

Dani kisses his forehead. "I'll be back. Be good."

"Okay."

***

"Oh god, Charlie. I let him fall; I wasn't watching."

"Shh. He's almost seven, we have the pool net up. He can be in the backyard alone. He knows better."

"I told him to stay out of the trees, but he was in one of his moods. Shit, that's why I sent him outside. What kind of parent does that?"

"A frustrated one. You two needed some time apart, and he needed a change in scenery. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I broke him. I'm not cut out for this…"

"Hey, no. You're great with him. Dani, he adores you; he listens to every word you say."

She snorts.

"Usually," Charlie corrects. "But he's dealt with so many horrible things, and he's just a little kid. He's resilient, but he's not immune. We'll get through this. I promise. We have to."

His hand drops to her rounded stomach.

She looks up at him.

"He's all we have left of her, Charlie. I can't lose him, too."

"We won't."

***

Lily Romero emerges from Daniel Ayers's room to find his guardians waiting anxiously.

Sergeant Reese is leaning forward, elbows on her knees, head turn to talk to Detective Crews next to her. Her hair is loose and curly, but disheveled, obscuring her face from Romero's side, and there's tension in her frame. Crews's hand is on her back in a rare public display of their affection. He says something softly to her, his face lighting up in the way it only seems to for her.

"Sergeant. Detective," Romero announces herself.

"How is he?" Reese asks immediately, turning her attention to the social worker.

"Same as before," she assures her. "Once I assured him that I was _not_ going to take him away, he got quite chatty."

Reese reaches for, and squeezes, Crews's hand.

"So he can stay?" Crews ventures.

"Of course."

Romero can see the tension bleed away from the couple.

"When an injury happens this soon after a transfer of custody, we _have_ to investigate, but your track record is clean, the doctor said the break is consistent with a fall, and Daniel himself shows no signs of abuse. Or neglect." The latter part is directed at Reese. "No parent can watch a child twenty-four/seven, nor should they. You've set firm boundaries, and he overstepped them. Hopefully, he'll learn from the experience. But kids need to be kids."

"I spent most of my summers in trees," Crews grins.

Reese looks down at her right pinky, briefly, her thumb tracing along the pad of it.

"Daniel tells me he's _very _excited to be a big brother. Mango, is it?"

Reese rolls her eyes once again. "Just for them."

"Are you telling him that he's going to be a big brother or has he come to this conclusion on his own?"

Reese immediately stiffens, on the defensive.

"We did."

"We decided no matter what relationship he winds up having with us, this baby will be his sibling," Crews explains. "We're a family."

Romero nods understandingly. "Bringing a newborn into a situation as new as this one can be traumatic, so I want you to keep including me and his therapist in the loop. But you seem to be going a great job right now. Bones get broken, especially with active little boys like Daniel."

Reese makes a face, obviously not agreeing but willing to concede the point for now.

"Any paperwork?" she asks.

"Just on my end. I'm going to head out and give you two some time with Daniel. Your mother is in their with him right now, Sergeant. Maamaan-bee, is it? I didn't know she was teaching him Farsi. That's a great way to include him."

"She is?"

Romero nods. "They're in there reviewing body parts, I think."

"Did you know that?" Reese asks Crews, who shrugs and shakes his head. "Why wouldn't they tell us?"

"Surprise?" Crews ventures. He returns his attention to the social worker. "Thank you very much, Ms. Romero. We'll be in touch."

They all shake hands and then Crews and Reese push into Daniel's hospital room.

D's face is screwed up tight in concentration, and before he notices them, he stumbles over, "Yes, my arm is feeling better," in Farsi.

Charlie smiles and glances at Dani from the corner of his eye, watching a grin blossom on her face. He's not sure what exactly D said, but it was apparently intelligible to Dani.

She says something slowly back, announcing their presence. Daniel beams in return.

"Hi, Aunt Dani. Hi, Uncle Charlie."

"Hey, buddy. When did you start speaking Farsi better than me?"

"Uncle Charlie, Maamaan-bee told me you only know food," D teases.

"Then I must not be as smart as you are."

"And he knows bad words. Bad words I'm not going to teach you."

"Aw, Maamaan-bee, why not?" He continues in Farsi: "I'm big."

TBC


	8. Moving Forward

**Title: Mango**

**Rating: PG-13 (some violence, angst, a couple f-bombs)**

**Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Kevin Tidwell, Ted Earley, a few OCs**

**Pairing: Crews/Reese**

**Summary: Crews and Reese, five years post-series. Life is changing.**

**Spoilers/Time Period: Set five years after One. (July 2014)**

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters (sans the Ayers) aren't mine, but the situation is.**

**Author's Note: Happy (almost) summer! The hiatus is over, D is adjusting to his cast, and Mango gets a gender pronoun! An extra long chapter to make up for the wait.**

_**Chapter Eight: Moving Forward**_

"Today's the day," Charlie grins over breakfast.

"For what?" Little D asks, mouth full of cereal.

Dani reaches to nudge his good arm and remind him to not talk with his mouth full, but catches herself. She's not quite sure where she picked up all these mom-isms.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Noor admonishes gently. Right. That would be where.

D swallows and says, "Sorry" in Farsi.

"For what?" he asks again.

"We're gonna find out if Mango is a boy or a girl," Charlie tells him. "We would've known last time, but Mango was showing us his or her backside, so we couldn't tell."

Little D giggles.

"When is your appointment?" Noor asks.

It's a rare day when Dani's and Charlie's off-days fall together, and D's science camp ends at noon.

"Eleven," Dani tells her mother. "Wanna pick D up and meet us for lunch?"

"Yeah!" D answers for his maaman bozorg.

"And then I think we should go bowling," Charlie suggests.

Dani looks up sharply from her toast, first questioningly at Charlie, then over to D, concerned. Bowling had been a frequent pastime for the Crews and the Ayers before (a fact about which Charlie was sworn to secrecy at work) but they hadn't been in the nearly three months since the accident.

But D just shrugs his left arm in response, nodding and smiling.

"What about your arm, D?" she questions.

"I can bowl left handed. That'll be cool! We're gonna need bumpers, though."

"Good, that's the only way Aunt Dani can hit any pins," Charlie teases, earning a light kick and an eye roll for his trouble. "Oh, hey, D. Wanna go to the game next weekend? Just you and me. Boys' night out?"

"Really?"

Charlie nods.

"Yeah! Oh, but what if Mango's a boy? Then Aunt Dani'll have to come so all the boys are out."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Dani assures him, scruffing his unruly curls. "Let's get you dressed and off to camp."

"I can dress myself," D half-pouts, precariously balancing his cereal bowl in one hand as Dani grabs his orange juice glass.

"I know. I'm just gonna help and speed things along."

D huffs. "Okay."

As they disappear up the stairs, Charlie turns to his mother-in-law. "We should video-tape Little Danny trying to dress himself with that cast on. Is that home movie show still on?"

Noor gives him a Reese woman eye roll.

"He does very well with it on," she steers the conversation in a different direction. "School will be harder, though. All that writing."

"He'll manage, I think."

D's high laughter echoes through the big house, and Charlie can just make out the sound of Dani's laugh joining him.

He grins and asks, "So, Maaman-bee, boy or a girl?"

Noor shrugs. "Healthy and happy."

"Can't disagree there." Charlie's phone starts buzzing, and when he checks the caller-id, he answers immediately, saying, "Ted! I forgot. No, no. I'll come down." He hangs up the phone and turns to his mother-in-law. "Forgot a finance meeting with Ted. Send Dani down to their house once Little D's on his way?"

"Of course, Charlie. See you at the bowling alley."

Charlie nods and grabs an orange as he hurries out the door.

* * *

"I trust Ted's opinion completely. If he says those funds are the best way to set D and Mango up, I believe him."

"So do I," Dani assures him as she climbs on to the exam table. She slips a little in her bare feet, and he moves his hand to steady her. She smiles her thanks. "I just think it might be a little early, that's all."

"You know Ted; he likes to be prepared."

"Yeah, well, as long as he's the one worrying about it and not me."

Charlie smiles and switches topics. "You really don't care if it's a boy or a girl?"

Dani shakes her head. "No."

"Really? Not at all? I mean, obviously, it doesn't matter either way."

"No, it doesn't," she rolls her eyes.

"But still, I'd really like a girl. Someone to spoil, you know. Buy pretty things for. Since you won't let me."

"Ha. Look, Charlie, it doesn't matter, because no matter what, you're gonna be a great dad, so the kid's already way ahead of either of us."

"Why Dani Reese, did you just say something nice about me?"

His tone is light and teasing, but his eyes convey his gratitude at her faith in him. She follows along and rolls her eyes, but she reaches for and squeezes his hand, keeping it held in hers while they wait for the doctor.

Her mind is all over the place, part of it still filled with numbers from the morning's meeting with Ted, part of it still nervous as hell about this whole motherhood thing, another part worrying over D and his adjustment and bowling. As such, she just smiles politely and answers direct questions while Charlie makes conversation with Sophie Harper, their doctor. Finally, she gets to lie back. Charlie is fairly bouncing in anticipation as the doctor starts the ultrasound. Dani ignores the cold gel on her belly and looks to the screen. She can't help but smile genuinely when the sound of the heartbeat fills the room and Mango's face begins to take shape. Dammit, Crews, the whole Mango thing has rubbed off on her.

"Alright, let's see here. The baby seems much more sociable today," Dr. Harper jokes. "You want to know the gender, right?"

Charlie nods enthusiastically.

"Well," the doctor smiles as she leans over to point to a section of the picture, "Congratulations, Detective, you got your wish. It's a girl."

Dani doesn't even object when Charlie immediately kisses her, his smile evident against her lips.

Dr. Harper finishes up her exam, giving both Mango and Dani a clean bill of health. Charlie just keeps smiling and holding fast to Dani's hand. Though it happens much more often these days, she still loves seeing the way his face lights up and the worries fade away when he's truly happy. She knows that this, marriage and babies and stability, was everything a young Crews had ever looked for in life. And though it's taken quite a circuitous path to finally get here, and though she has her own misgivings about her fitness for motherhood, she loves that she can be a part of making Charlie happy.

* * *

"Alright, that's Rachel," Charlie is still beaming a half hour later in the car. Their appointment ran late, so despite Charlie's objections, they're having bowling alley lunch. "She says congratulations, and she's very excited to have another girl around. Olivia and Ted are meeting us for bowling. Who else is on the list to tell about baby Mango?"

Dani looks warily at him out of the corner of her eye as she keeps most of her attention on the road. Five-and-a-half months pregnant and she still won't even let him drive the car.

"Your dad," she suggests, bracing herself for the response.

"No."

"Charlie, I know your issues with your dad, and I respect that, but he at least deserves to know he's going to have a granddaughter."

"He doesn't deserve to meet her. Not when my mom can't."

"If that's what you want, I'll back you up on that. But shouldn't he at least know she's out there? If we knew where the hell my dad is, if he's alive, I would want him to know."

He breaks from his brooding long enough to give her a surprised look. She doesn't often talk about Jack, especially with him. He supposes their impending parenthood has made both of them reflect on their own parents.

"I'll think about it," he acquiesces.

Dani nods and gracefully shifts the topic of conversation. "Call Stark, so he can make sure all the bets are paid off by the time I get in tomorrow."

Charlie puts on a smile, and it's not too fake, as he begins excitedly dialing Stark's number.

"Bobby! Guess what? You won!"

* * *

"It's a girl? Really?" Little D asks.

"Yup," Charlie confirms.

"So cool!"

"What would've you said if it was a boy?" Dani teases, smoothing his unruly hair out of his face.

D does his one-armed shrug. "I always wanted a sister."

"Yeah, since yesterday," Dani accuses, crossing her arms in front of her. "Last week it was a little brother, the week before a sister, then the week before…"

"Okay, okay," D rolls his eyes.

"C'mon, D, let's get our shoes," Charlie suggests as a warm-eyed Noor moves to embrace her only daughter, murmuring her congratulations in Farsi.

When they join the boys at the lane, D is busy inventing bowling nicknames for everyone.

"Don't forget Ted and Olivia," Charlie reminds him.

"Someone called for us?" Olivia questions as she and Ted join them at the lane.

"Hi, Olivia. Hi, Grandpa Ted. What do you want your nicknames to be?"

"Before we get to that, D, you wanna tell them the news?" Charlie asks.

"Oh yeah! You wanna know if Mango's a girl or a boy?"

Olivia smiles at D. "Of course, Daniel."

"Guess first!"

"It's fifty-fifty shot," Ted notes.

"Oh, I don't know. It's very hard…" Olivia draws it out.

"A girl!" impatient Daniel exclaims. "Mango's a girl."

"Charlie, that's great," Ted smiles. "Daughters are the best."

"Yeah, he's very excited," Dani grins with a little roll of her eyes.

"Aunt Dani, you wanna be on my team or Uncle Charlie's team?" D has already moved on as Ted and Olivia pass their congratulations and start to put on their shoes.

"Why aren't you on Uncle Charlie's team?"

"Because he's not very good."

"Hey! Why are you always doubting my athletic ability?" Charlie objects.

D giggles.

"Bowling is not athletic," Dani objects.

"It's a professional sport," Ted counters without much gusto.

"Either way," Charlie soldiers on. "Now it's personal, kid. You're going down."

"Then I'm on D's team, because you made fun of my ability to bowl this morning."

"Alright, fine. Ted? Noor? Care to teach these two a lesson?"

"Are we really trash-talking about bowling?" Olivia asks skeptically.

"Yes, that's how it's done," Dani tells her. "Not fun without some competition."

"Right," D echoes his beloved godmama. "Mommy and I always beat Aunt Dani and Uncle Charlie."

Dani pauses, holding back the flood of memories. It's good that he can talk about her. She has to encourage this.

"That's right. That's why I want to be on your team, not Uncle Charlie's. Maaman-bee's pretty good, though, so we have to be careful. You ready, Olivia?"

Olivia shrugs and decides to play along. "Alright. Ted, you're going down."

"There we go!" Charlie teases. "Now, everyone go to D for your nickname and let's get this game started. Get ready, Reese, we're gonna wipe the floor with you."

"Don't get cocky, Crews."

* * *

He creeps into the bedroom, though he's sure he's not fooling her at all; it's just good to make an effort. To his great surprise, however, she's fast asleep and remains so even as he begins to strip off his jeans, hoodie, and Dodgers cap. He brushes his teeth quickly and quietly, and then slips into bed beside her, wondering at the fact she's still fairly asleep. Mango must still be taking more out of her than she lets on. He slides his arms around her and presses a kiss into the crook of her neck.

"You boys were out late," she mumbles groggily.

Charlie grins; maybe not as asleep as he thought.

"Pick up chicks at the ballpark?" she asks, turning over to face him.

"Extra innings," he says, both explanation and apology, kissing her briefly.

"We win?" she yawns.

"Yep. D was pumped, but he crashed in the car. I carried him up to his room."

"Good. Let him sleep in tomorrow," she says softly, eyes drifting shut then popping open again, repeatedly. "Don't." Yawn. "Wake him up to play just 'cause you're bored."

"Yes, ma'am. You're so hot when you order me around."

"That's all the time, Crews."

"Exactly."

She opens her eyes just enough to rolls them at him.

He grins. "Wanna make out?"

She groans and flings a hand at him, rolling back over.

"Go to sleep, Crews."

"Not tonight, then?" he teases, settling his arms around her and his head into the pillows.

Her voice softens as one of her hands joins his on her belly and the solid presence of their baby girl.

"Yeah, Charlie. Not tonight. G'night."

"'Night. Love you."

"Love you, too," she yawns, squeezing his hand.

* * *

Back at work, the news has made the rounds, and everyone is excited, except Dani, who is still stuck on desk duty.

Crews, however, is still downright giddy. He and Hart are pretty far in a murder investigation, and they are presenting their evidence to Tidwell before going to the DA for an arrest warrant for their prime suspect.

"Heard it's a girl," Tidwell makes small talk as Hart prepares the evidence board.

"It is!" Charlie says brightly, leaning over to move one of the digital pictures over a few inches. They've had these new electronic murder boards for a few years now, but he still misses the old ones, just as he misses having Reese at his side through every step of the case. Though, if the tradeoff is work or the rest of life, the decision is, and was, very easy.

"Your life is gonna be hell in fifteen years," Tidwell chuckles a little.

Crews sighs in agreement, already imagining a little girl every inch as pretty as her mama, and just as headstrong as the two of them put together. "But it's gonna be great before and after that. Plus, one of each."

"One of each," Tidwell echoes longingly.

"Think she'll be it, Crews?" Hart asks.

"Oh, I don't know. It's up to Reese. We talked about two, you know, before D; we were both lonely onlys. But now, I don't know."

"Alright, catch me up, Hart," Tidwell changes tacks. "Let's catch those bad guys."

"Bad girl, actually," Crews clarifies, gesturing for Hart to take it from there.

"Right, witness put Sarah Johnson leaving the building at 4:34am…"

* * *

Crib shopping. Charlie Crews cannot believe he is crib shopping with Dani Reese. Or that she just uttered the words: "Daniel Winthrop Ayers, if you don't stop trying to get your head stuck in a crib, I will leave you there when it finally does."

D grins impishly with his now-signature one-armed shrug. "Yes, ma'am."

"I don't know; I think it's a good system. If he actually _can_ fit his head in, we know we have a problem, and we definitely won't buy that crib."

"That's a good point, but these are well-designed cribs; all he's doing is bruising his forehead."

Charlie mimics 'The Shrug'. "Sometimes a boy's gotta do what a boy's gotta do."

"Thank you for being a girl," Dani directs to her rounded stomach.

Charlie grins. "Since the father's contribution determines gender, you're welcome. Ooh. I like this one. It'll go well with the lavender room. And it comes with a whole set for the room."

"You're spoiling her already."

"That's what Daddies are for!"

"Little D, come stick your head in this one," Dani calls for the wandering-within-earshot boy.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Gotta make sure it's safe for your little sister."

"Awesome," D smiles, setting about his big brotherly duty.

"Hey, tonight's movie night. Stay in or go out?" Charlie asks his family.

"In. We've seen every kid appropriate movie that's out right now," Dani reminds him.

"Good point. We'll head right home then."

"After we stop at the ice cream shop," Dani clarifies.

"Ice cream?" D asks excitedly, bringing his head up quickly into the top rail of the crib. "Oww."

"Serves you right. You okay?" she asks, rubbing the offending area for him.

"Yeah."

"Good. Ice cream, huh?" Charlie teases.

"Yes. Mango is hungry."

"So's D."

Charlie laughs. "Okay. What's your opinion on the crib?"

"Can't get stuck," D assures them.

"Alright. Let's buy this and go, then."

* * *

"Detective Crews."

"Captain! Moving on up. How's the plan going?"

"Moving on up," Jane Seever echoes with a smile, resting against Charlie's desk. "Should be up for a promotion to commander in the next year or so."

"Hey, Seever. I want you to meet Caleb Hart, my partner. Hart, this is Jane Seever, one of my old partners."

"Jeez, Crews, how many hot ex-partners do you have?"

The young man pales as he realizes he said that aloud.

"Hart, what have we said about putting your foot in your mouth?"

"I'm sorry, Captain," Hart says, mortified.

"It's alright. Bobby _is _a looker."

Crews laughs. Still blushing, Hart grins a little.

"Caleb, why don't you go check on CSU?" Charlie suggests.

"Yeah, uh – Sure thing, Crews. Captain."

The kid fairly sprints out of the pen.

Charlie grins. "Got a little trouble with having a filter between his brain and his mouth. Or, not having one, really."

Seever raises a brow. "How's that working out for him as a detective?"

Charlie shrugs. "It's been an interesting eight months."

Seever laughs a little. "What ever happened to Martinez?"

"Went back to Vice."

"Couldn't take the death?"

Charlie shakes his head. "Got promoted."

"That's three for four now. Crews, you're good for ex-partners' promotions." She glances back towards Hart's desk. "Well, maybe not all of them."

"He's a good kid."

"Speaking of partners, I heard some gossip."

"About?" Charlie plays innocent.

"Nice try. I hear congratulations are in order."

Crews's grin splits extra wide.

"They are indeed. A girl."

"A girl. That's really nice, Crews. How's Reese doing?"

"Go ask her yourself. But wear your vest, because she's been on desk duty for over a month now. Bobby's worried she'll start taking hostages."

"I think I'll pass. Tell her I say hi."

"Oh, you wanna see pictures?"

"Sure, Crews."

Crews grabs Mango's ultrasound and a snapshot of D.

"These, Captain Seever, are my kids."

Jane looks up from the pictures to Charlie's beaming smile and can't help but be grateful that they've all made it this far.

"They're beautiful, Charlie. How is Daniel doing?"

"He has good days and bad days. The good ones seem to be winning so far. And his collarbone is healing nicely. He's still got a month left in the cast, though, and he's bummed about all the swim parties he's been missing."

"It's LA and you have a pool in your backyard. He'll have plenty of pool time."

"That's true. You wanna come over for dinner next week and see everyone? Dani's much less likely to pull a gun on you at home."

Jane laughs. "Well, with an offer like that one… I'd love to. Talk to Dani and call me to set up a time."

"Will do. You got official business down here at our lowly station?"

"I do. I'll see you next week then?"

"Count on it."

* * *

tbc


	9. Redemption

Title: Mango

Rating: PG-13 (some violence, angst, a couple f-bombs)

Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Kevin Tidwell, Ted Earley, a few OCs

Pairing: Crews/Reese

Summary: Crews and Reese, five years post-series. Life is changing.

Spoilers/Time Period: Set five years after One. (August 2014)

Disclaimer: Most of the characters (sans the Ayers) aren't mine, but the situation is.

Author's Note: The recent plethora of new Life fic inspired me to continue. I hope people are still enjoying! There are about six chapters left, sketched out. Thanks for reading.

**Chapter Nine: Redemption**

Daniel Ayers has changed everything.

Of course, he has always been important to Charlie and Dani, and, of course, the impending arrival of baby Mango is certainly a factor, but Ted Earley can see how much Little D has fundamentally changed life in the Reese-Crews household.

The change is perhaps first most noticeable in Sergeant Reese, for a variety of reasons. Her changes are physical as well as personal, and her body softens in the same way her outward demeanor has with D's continued presence. Despite the grief he knows she still wrestles with, he's heard her laugh more in the three months since D came to live with them than he ever had before. D brings it out in her, with his goofy grin and wild theories, whether they are about dinosaur invasions or superhero battles. She scruffs his hair, grins adoringly, and says things like, "Sorry, buddy, you're wrong. Batman would totally win." It's simply beautiful, even when he sometimes catches the devastation in her eyes when she looks at him; she must be seeing his mother.

The change is the most profound, if more subtle, in Charlie Crews. Little Danny, for Charlie, is the culmination of his redemption: a child. This same change would probably have occurred six months later, with the arrival of Mango, had fate not chosen to take D's parents, but it's different, because D is a kid who has lost everything, more even than Charlie. D is resilient, but broken, and earning his love, trust, and acceptance is fundamental for Charlie. He is becoming the quintessential father to D: catch in the backyard, baseball games on the weekend, fast cars, and hilariously ill-fated construction projects. Of the last, their next is building the long-promised tree house, as soon as D's cast comes off. Dani is opposed, given how said cast was acquired, but for the first and only time Ted has witnessed, she has been overruled by twin puppy dog pouts and an endorsement from Maaman-bee. D chases away the last of the darkness in Charlie, in both of them, at least for the minutes or hours they can steal with him daily.

He does, of course, also test their patience, especially on days like today. Charlie, Daniel, Ted, and Teddy watch _The Lion King_ on a Saturday afternoon, while Noor, Olivia, and Rachel take Dani shopping for baby stuff in lieu of a shower. (The person who should have been throwing said shower is not there, and so this is the compromise.) The frequent references to "Dad" had set D on edge, and Mufasa plummeting into the ravine, a horrifying scene in and of itself, has sparked an entire meltdown.

As Daniel flails and screams, Charlie tries to keep his voice calm and even, calling upon all of his Zen training, Ted's sure. Teddy grabs his grandfather's hand, flicking his eyes up nervously at his friend's behavior.

"Maybe we should…" Ted starts, unsure of how to proceed.

Charlie nods curtly, his full attention focused on Little D.

"He's gonna be okay, right, Grandpa?" Teddy asks as they gather their things and head for the door.

Ted looks over to where Charlie has finally coaxed D into his arms, still bearing the brunt of small punches on his chest and murmuring soft reassurances.

"He'll be okay, Teddy," Ted promises, believing it whole-heartedly. For all of the bad hands Charlie, Dani, and Daniel have been played, they all had just enough luck to fall into each other's lives.

* * *

"_Hey, you wanna grab dinner after we sign this back in?" Charlie asks as they drop off evidence. "Or should we eat in?"_

"_I actually have plans with the Ayers," Dani declines him gently._

"_Oh. Oh, okay."_

_They've been 'seeing' each other for the last five months, but she is still reticent to include him in her life with Daniel Ayers. He doesn't know if she has even told Katie about their relationship yet._

"_You could come, if you wanted…" she says, not without trepidation. "I mean, if you don't want to, that's okay, but…"_

"_I'd love to," he smiles._

"_Yeah?" she smiles back briefly, putting a little space between them as they emerge from the evidence locker._

"_Yeah. Haven't seen Little D since this summer. He's almost two, right?"_

"_Just about."_

"_Must be getting big. Where are we eating?"_

_She smirks at him. "I'll drive."_

_

* * *

_

_Katie Ayers doesn't look at all surprised to see him and just gives him a knowing look. He guesses she must know after all._

"_Detective Crews," she greets, as Dani moves immediately to greet D._

"_Charlie, please."_

"_Charlie," she nods. "It's good to see you."_

_Behind her, Reese has picked chattering Daniel Ayers up, nodding along to whatever he is saying. It's a beautiful sight._

"_D," Katie interrupts. "Can you say hi to Charlie?"_

_D immediately halts his stream of conversation._

_He turns wide green eyes towards him and, despite not showing an ounce of bashfulness before, tucks his head onto his godmother's shoulder, waves and shyly says, "Hi."_

"_Hello," Charlie greets him._

_D smiles and ducks his head playfully. _

"_Look at you. Have you no shame? Flirting with Aunt Dani's boyfriend?" Katie teases her son._

"_Oh, he flirts with everything," Dani smiles, poking the boy's ribs and earning a giggle. "I won't take it personally."_

_And though they've both made leaps and bounds in being open, Charlie certainly didn't expect for Dani to not only take Katie's teasing well, but to acknowledge it and play along. Charlie's smile just grows wider, realizing more and more what a big step this is._

_All throughout dinner, D regales them with his almost two-year-old speech, of which Crews understands half, Reese seems to get three-fourths of, and Katie seems to completely comprehend. He's quiet only once the diner waitress supplies chicken fingers and fries._

_Dani and Katie tell stories of their childhood, and Dani only makes token objections about the embarrassing ones._

"_How'd you meet?" Charlie asks once he gets a word in edgewise. _

_That one makes each woman pause, looking to each other. Dani shrugs, and Katie frowns._

"_I have no idea," Katie admits, surprise in her voice. "Do you remember, Dani?"_

_Dani shakes her head. "Not at all. I guess pre-school or kindergarten. Or just playing in the neighborhood?"_

"_Neither of you remember anything?"_

_Dani laughs a little. "I don't remember NOT knowing Kate."_

_Katie grins at that. "Yeah, I have memories going back to kindergarten, so it had to be before that. Weird."_

"_I think it's nice," Charlie says. "Having a friend so long you can't remember how you met."_

"_You don't have any of those, Charlie?" Katie asks._

"_I can't remember the last time I talked to someone who knew me when I was a kid. Oh, hey. I bet I know who you can ask: Noor."_

"_Oh, I bet Noor does know!" Katie gasps, "Ask her." With that order, she nudges Dani._

"_Okay, okay. You don't have to hit me."_

"_I have another question."_

_Dani rolls her eyes. "Hopefully this one's not as hard."_

"_Ask away, Detective."_

"_What did you swear? The pinky scars. Friends forever?"_

_Katie smiles. "Pretty much. We were eight."_

_Dani's face is more serious. "That no one and no thing would come between us. No boys, no parents, no clique-y girls at school. Not being grown ups."_

_Katie meets her eyes, and her smile gets softer. "Guess we did okay on that one."_

"_Yeah, guess we did. There were rough spots."_

"_Yeah, you were so much more popular than me, but any time you tried to ditch me, I blackmailed you with our scars."_

_Dani laughs, loud and genuine. Charlie loves it._

"_Blackmailed with a blood oath. I love it. Story of our friendship."_

_

* * *

_

"Hey," Dani greets Charlie warmly as she enters the living room. Noor is right behind her. Both are laden with shopping bags. Her eyes glance up the stairs and a tinge of worry enters her voice. "How's he doing?"

Charlie looks up from his book with tired eyes, unfolding his long legs and standing to greet his wife and mother-in-law.

"He fell asleep about half an hour ago," he answers, relieving her of her bags with a soft kiss at her cheek. "Early for him, I know, but I think he was exhausted. He calmed down right before dinner, but he barely kept his eyes open long enough to eat."

Dani nods, resisting the urge to run up and check on him.

"This is all you got?" Charlie says, just a little too brightly, but genuine all the same.

"Oh no, the car is full," Noor half-smiles. "We thought we'd leave those for you."

"I guess that is my manly duty," Charlie teases.

"I'll come with you," Dani volunteers.

"I'm going to turn in for the night. I'll stick my head in on Daniel on my way up. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Maaman-bee."

Dani wishes her mother sweet dreams and thanks her for a lovely day in their shared language, kissing her goodnight.

"You should have called me earlier," Dani scolds as they return to the garage, and she would die before she admits that it comes out a little petulant.

"D and I had it under control," he assures her softly. "You couldn't have helped any more."

At her angry glance, he continues, "Not like that, and you know it."

She crosses her arms over her expanding stomach, already six months along.

"Sometimes he just gets in these moods," he presses on. "I should've known the movie was going to be a problem, but it'll be okay."

Dani bites her lip, obviously still a bit put out but willing to drop it.

"Did you have a good time?" Charlie asks, bright again as he leans into the open trunk to retrieve some of the bags. He's willing to keep talking until she's ready to talk back. "Whoa, that's a lot of pink."

An unconscious smile plays at Dani's lips as she rolls her eyes. He's rewarded early for his patience.

"Those three together are deadly. We should've never told them it was a girl. That's half of the pink they wanted to buy! I made them buy other colors, too."

"Girls like pink, right?"

She fixes him with a withering stare, but her eyes are still grinning, which completely softens the blow.

"You really think he's going to be okay?" she switches back to the topic they're still both actually thinking about.

"He's D," Charlie assures her. "He'll wake up in the morning, and his only worry will be how many pancakes he can con Maaman-bee into making him."

"True…" Dani draws out, grabbing the last few bags out of the backseat as Charlie shuts the trunk with a dull thud. "School starts in less than a month. Do you think he'll be alright at the new school?"

"He'll be great." They enter the kitchen and set the monstrous piles of shopping bags onto the island. "Did you call and make that appointment for the conference?"

"Left a message," she confirms, lifting herself onto one of the stools with an audible sigh of relief. Her feet are killing her. "I'm sure his teacher will get back to us."

"Hey, you decided what color we're painting Mango's room yet?"

"Not. Pink," she groans as he passes her a glass of water and a bowl of cookie dough ice cream. She manages a warm smile at the latter. "Thanks."

"Mango always seems to like her cookie dough at the end of the day."

"Mango. Sure," she grins. She looks down into the bowl, contemplating.

Charlie lets her think while she methodically devours the ice cream, busying himself in the kitchen easily.

"I'm gonna go check on him," she announces as she deposits her empty bowl into the sink.

Dani takes her time up the stairs, half listening to the comforting noise of Charlie loading the dishwasher and humming an indeterminate tune under his breath. In Daniel's doorway, she pauses, leaning against it. He sleeps deeply, as he always does, splayed out on the entire width of his bed. She inhales deeply; the room already smells like D, of bubble gum and kid sweat and Katie.

"I'm sorry," she whispers softly into the room, which is lit only by a small nightlight in the corner. D sleeps on, unaware.

* * *

_She stares, praying (to what, she doesn't know) that Charlie would walk in and stop her. But he's stuck in traffic, she knows, the weight of the day pressing down on her. Unruly suspects, dead end leads, and a dead third grader. Reviews and the lieutenant's test. Tidwell being Tidwell, passing on the pressure from upstairs about hers and Charlie's string of unsolveds. A fight with Charlie, about work or home or how difficult it is to keep the two apart._

_She continues to stare, and then slowly removes the vodka from its paper bag, desperate now for anyone, Ted, Rachel, the cleaning lady, the pool guy, to walk in and catch her. To stop her. Because she can't stop herself._

_She reaches for the vodka, unscrewing the cap. They say you can't smell good vodka, but its scent still hits her like a brick. Before she can take a swig, her cell rings. The sound is harsh and painful and blessed. _

"_Katie, now isn't really a great time," she lies in greeting._

"_D wants to talk to you," Katie ignores her, and before Dani can protest, the three-and-a-half year old's voice fills her ear._

"_Hi, Aun' Dani," he says brightly. "Mama and me went to the park today."_

_She feels overwhelmingly sick now at the smell and sight of the bottle._

"_What you did?" he prompts._

"_I went to work."_

"_So you can buy me toys?"_

_She laughs, hearing Katie's scolding on the other end._

"_Yeah, buddy," she answers, picking up the bottle and walking over to the counter. "Is today a preschool day?"_

"_No, tomorrow."_

"_Oh, okay. What did you do at the park?"_

"_Play," he answers simply._

"_Right, of course. Silly Aunt Dani."_

"_Silly," he giggles. "When are you 'n' Uncle Charlie comin' over?"_

"_In two days."_

"_How many sleeps?"_

"_Two."_

"_Mama says time for dinner."_

"_Oh, okay."_

"_Gotta go, bye! Love you!" D says by rote. _

"_I love you, buddy," she says seriously. _

"_Mama says hi! Bye!"_

_The phone clicks off. Dani sets it on the counter and stares one last second at the bottle._

_Then she pours it down the drain._

_

* * *

TBC_


	10. Not Yet

Title: Mango

Rating: PG-13 (some violence, angst, a couple f-bombs)

Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Kevin Tidwell, Ted Earley, a few OCs

Pairing: Crews/Reese

Summary: Crews and Reese, five years post-series. Life is changing.

Spoilers/Time Period: Set five years after One. (August-November 2014)

Disclaimer: Most of the characters (sans the Ayers) aren't mine, but the situation is.

Author's Note: Right, so... Sorry. I've been... distracted. But I have huge chunks of this sitting on my hard drive, and that's not fair to y'all, since they're the important parts. So I've compressed a little, and hopefully it's not too disjointed. There's definitely a chapter or two left, so I hope you're all still along for the ride, and I'm really sorry it's a bit of an abridged one.

**Chapter Ten: Not Yet**

"Hey, kiddo! I heard the good news."

Crews's jaw tightens instinctually at the voice, turning around to see the devil he once made a deal with.

"We're done, Rayborn. And we had an agreement."

"What? I can't be excited? You're gonna be a father, kid. Little girl, I hear. Hope she'll be pretty like her mama. If only Jack could see you now," Rayborn smiles smarmily, flanked by two giant bodyguards, dressed in a pressed suit. He's still Mickey, just a little frailer. Unfortunately, he was never dying from any sort of cancer.

Crews attempts to keep walking.

"Don't be rude, Charlie. I heard you inherited a son, too. Poor Katie."

Charlie pauses and gives him a sharp look.

"Hey, I knew Kathryn and Jacob Conroy long before you did, back when they were little kids hanging around the Reese house with your young wife. Is it true Jake killed his own sister?"

"Walk away, Mickey," Charlie smiles too brightly. "Remember, I can turn in the evidence I have on you at any time."

"I'm just congratulating my best friend's son-in-law," Mickey defends, hands lazily in his pockets. The hot L.A. sun beats down on his dark suit, catching on his sunglasses.

Charlie's never felt more suffocated on a crowded street in his life.

"You come close to my kids, Rayborn, and the authorities will be the last of your worries."

"Funny, that's just what the missus said."

Crews snaps, grabbing the old man's shirt. "Stay away from my wife."

"Dani's a big girl, kiddo," he coughs. "She can stick up for herself against her Uncle Mickey."

People have started to stare, and Rayborn's bodyguards are getting antsy. Charlie desperately wants to be home. He reluctantly releases Rayborn.

"Our deal stands, Crews. But Jack Reese is going to be a grandfather, and he's not even around to see it. The old softie in me feels like I should take on his role. I won't touch your kids, kiddo. That's sacred. They will be as my own. I put the word on the street. If anything happens to them, you can hold me responsible."

It's an attractive offer, but Crews knows there will be a steep price later down the line.

"Did you tell Dani that?"

"Something to that effect."

Charlie nods curtly.

"Goodbye, Rayborn."

"'Bye, kiddo."

* * *

"He got to you too?" Dani says by way of greeting, picking up on the second ring.

"A little warning would've been nice, Dani," Charlie complains into his cell phone.

"Hey, you didn't answer your phone," she retorts, obviously annoyed with his tone. "And then things got crazy here. Winn and Singh busted up a crack house by accident."

"By..." No, he's not going there. There are more pressing concerns. "You're not upset about Rayborn?"

"Crews. Of course I'm upset, but what can we do about it?"

"And when he wants something in return?"

"We can't make him take it back; we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Charlie blows a frustrated breath into the phone, noting with some amusement that Dani is being the more Zen one at the moment.

"Oh, hey," she continues, obviously a little distracted. The bustle of the squad room reaches him across the cell line. "The school called. We have an appointment for Friday. They want us to bring D."

"Okay. How are you feeling? Are you keeping off your feet?"

"Yes, Charlie," she sighs. She's only six-and-a-half months along, but Charlie's hovering has gotten even worse. "Stark, tell him I'm sitting down."

"The Sarge is sitting down, but not happy about it, Charlie," Stark's tinny voice assures him.

"Good. Thank you. I'm coming back to the station. See you soon."

* * *

"Mr. Crews, it's so nice to meet you. Will Mrs. Crews be joining us?" Daniel's perky future second grade teacher greets him warmly.

"She's stuck in traffic with Daniel and her mother, so she said to get started without her, Ms. Kong."

"Okay, great. Principal Novak mentioned that Daniel is a bit of a special case. Want to catch me up on the details?" she asks as she offers him a seat.

"Well, my wife and I are D's godparents. His mom died almost fourth months ago in a car accident, and his dad committed suicide. We decided a fresh start at a new school would do him some good."

"Yes, of course. I'm so sorry for your loss."

Charlie nods his gratitude.

"He sees a psychologist on a regular basis and seems to be adjusting pretty well. He has some anxieties about some things. He'll be okay to talk about his mom usually, but he'll shut down completely if you even mention dads. He was in the house when his father shot himself. So loud, sharp noises really bother him. Oh, and my mother-in-law is teaching him Farsi, which he loves to show off, but when he gets in a stubborn mood he will only speak Farsi. I think that about covers it. I know it's a long list."

"Not much worse than kids who haven't been through that kind of trauma, Mr. Crews," she reassures him. "I see Daniel won't be seven until November. That makes him very young for second grade."

"It does. He's very smart, though. His parents started him in kindergarten when he was four. I'm not sure what the circumstances were that lead the that decision; Dani would know more. But his other school said he does just fine."

"That all sounds good. I can't wait to meet both him and your wife."

"Oh, and one more thing... Don't call her Mrs. Crews."

* * *

Come November, things have settled back into a steady routine, but with Daniel's seventh birthday on the fifteenth and Dani's due date not long after, life in the Crews household is about to be flipped upside down. The first hurdle is Jake Conroy's sentencing. He was found guilty on all charges without their involvement, but the DA's office really wants D on the stand for sentencing, and asked Constance Griffiths to do some good old-fashioned begging to get it done. Standing in her office, Charlie can only tell that it is _not _going well.

"Charlie, please."

Dani's eyes narrow at the ADA's personal tone, and she looks to her husband to back her up about this.

"No, Connie. I have to agree with Reese on this one. He's not ready. Even his shrink says he's not ready."

"But having him there will be a major boon at the sentencing hearing. You want Jake to have the steepest penalty possible, right?"

"Of course we do," Reese speaks up, arms crossed above her heavily pregnant stomach. "But not at D's expense."

Charlie can feel the room getting tenser as the two women square off, and he's magically saved by his phone.

"Crews."

"D," the little voice on the other end mimics, complete with a giggle.

"Hey, you. What's up?" he excuses himself briefly to the other side of the door, hoping Connie and Dani won't murder each other while he's gone.

"Maaman-bee and I just bought Mango a dollhouse."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. But we have a question for Aunt Dani. Can we talk to her?"

"Yeah, I'll grab her. Everything okay?"

"Mhmm."

"Promise?"

"Pinky swear."

"Munchkin's on the phone for you," Charlie tells Dani as he passes her the phone and switches places with her.

She makes a face and tilts her head, questioning. Charlie shrugs.

"Might be about a dollhouse."

"A dollhouse?"

Charlie shrugs again.

"Okay. Excuse me, please."

Once they're alone in the room, Connie turns sad eyes to him.

"You can't change her mind?"

Charlie smiles widely, easily. "Not even when I want to."

"How far along is she?"

"Due in three weeks. Right around D's birthday, actually."

"Girl or boy?"

Charlie recognizes the almost masochistic nature of Connie's questions and tries to tone down his smile.

"A little girl," he answers softly.

"Are you ready?"

"No, but I will be, when it's time."

"I'm happy for you, Charlie. And as a person, I totally understand your decision about Daniel. As a prosecutor…"

"I know. I'll come and testify on D and Reese's behalf, okay? And I'll talk to the Ayers. Maybe they'll come out."

"Any little bit will help. It's an unusual conviction, first degree vehicular homicide, for a non-driver in a one car accident. The judge will need convincing to hand down the full penalty."

"Tell ADA Solis I'll be there, but the stress is too much for Reese and Daniel."

"Thank you, Charlie."

"The least I can do, given what you've done for me."

* * *

"I don't like it."

"One of us has to go."

"I know; I still don't like it."

Charlie leans over and kisses her temple.

"And I wanna drive."

"Dani, you don't fit behind the wheel."

She scowls at him.

"You're very pouty today. What else do you want to whine about?"

"The way ADA Griffiths was looking at you."

"Reese, are you jealous of ADA Griffiths?" he teases, hoping to bring a smile to her face.

"No."

"Good. You shouldn't be. I know you'd shoot me if I ever strayed," he grins, starting the car and waiting for her dry, witty reply.

"Great, fidelity through fear. What every girl wants to hear," she snarks.

He passes a sidelong glance and an open smile. "You know I love no one but you."

He watches out of the corner of her eye as her stern face slips, and she hides a smile behind her hand.

"And the only thing that has to do with your prowess with a firearm is that it's very sexy."

"Thanks, Crews," she says, saying his last name with more affection than any pet name could express. "And, if I was, maybe, a little jealous, hypothetically, of a beautiful, thin, nonpregnant woman who saved your life, I'm blaming Mango."

"Aw, Mango, are _you_ jealous of ADA Griffiths?"

Despite the fact that he is driving, she punches him in the arm.

He laughs and searches out her fist with his free hand, bringing it to his lips.

"Number 1: Connie is pretty, but she's nothing compared to you. #2 and #3: She's thin because she's not pregnant with a tiny little Crews, which is the most amazing and beautiful thing I've ever seen. #4: I cannot argue with the fact that she is a woman."

Dani snorts.

"Number 5…" Now his voice loses its playful edge. "Number 5: you've saved my life more times and in more ways that I can even count. Connie may have gotten me out of prison, but Dani, you've given me a life back, some thing and someone…s to live for. You, D, Mango, that dog I'm soon going to talk you into, you're my life, and I wouldn't have any of it without you."

She closes her eyes against the tears and smiles. Damn, that man talks too much.

"You've proved your case, Detective."

"Thanks, Sarge. I learned from the best."

* * *

"Did the judge come to a decision?" Dani asks cautiously as Charlie locks gun and badge into the drawer.

D and Maaman-bee are building Legos in the living room, out of earshot, as Dani prepares a dinner of pasta and meatballs.

Charlie looks troubled but nods.

"And?"

"Fifteen. Up for parole at eight."

She curses under breath. "I know that's good, given the charges, but I was really hoping for more."

"Me too."

Charlie comes up behind her, hands sliding around her stomach, kiss dropped into her neck.

"You okay?"

"I don't like seeing him. Or court rooms. They make it hard to stay present."

"I know. I'm sorry you had to do it alone."

"Sergeant Ayers came."

"How was he?"

"Sad. I said I would bring D over tomorrow."

"Take Mom with you. She mentioned wanting to see Fitz and Tess the other day."

"Are you trying to get the house all to yourself?"

She hums a little laugh. "No. I'll probably just be napping, anyway."

"Speaking of, you shouldn't be on your feet."

"Charlie, I can stir the marinara sauce and frozen meatballs, it's okay."

He grins and continues to hold her close, letting go of all of the bad memories today brought back.

"Oh, hello," he laughs suddenly. "Dani, your daughter is kicking me again."

"Mango, don't kick Daddy. Oof. Or Mama's bladder.

"I think she's ready to come out."

"Not yet."

* * *

tbc


End file.
